Bannerjee, as the railway minister, appointed Mitra as chairman of an expert committee to look into the business plans for Indian Railways.

The Trinamool Congress chief's confidante notes that West Bengal is over-burdened with a debt of Rs.2 lakh crore. ''It is not able to meet its salary payouts,'' he remarks. ''It (the former Communist regime) has neither done anything to encourage home-grown businesses, nor has it done anything to lure investments from outside. There is a total lack of confidence among the investing community.''

When Mitra took over as secretary-general of FICCI in 1994, it was facing a major crisis, just three years after the government launched the economic reforms programme. The staid old merchants' body, run on the lines of a traditional family-run business, faced formidable challenges.

Its rival business lobby, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was not only a much bigger body, but was also eager to embrace the changes on the economic front.

''When Mitra took over the reins in FICCI, it was struggling to sustain its historical legacy, built since its founding in 1927,'' the chamber said in a statement, announcing the resignation of its secretary-general. ''Mitra, almost single-handedly, took on the task of rebuilding FICCI and restoring it to its former glory. He leaves behind a solid base for FICCI to make another qualitative shift to the next level in influencing policy and contributing to India's engagement with the rest of the world.''

Mitra professionalised the organisation and ensured that it had to generate revenues for its survival.

When he took over in 1994, it had revenues of Rs.3 crore a year; by the time he quit, it had shot up to Rs.110 crore.

He also expanded its presence internationally, opening offices in London, Beijing and Washington DC.