WEST BENGAL: When Ignorance Is Not Bliss!!

Friends, if the very subject of this entry fails to generate interest in you, I request you to kindly read on.. Here, we are not talking of the West Bengal we so well know, drawing all its legacy from the numerous contributions to the freedom struggle, an endless supply of intellectuals it has produced, the famous ‘Bengali Babus’, or the most successful land reforms experiment in India, neither we are talking of Nandi gram, Singur or Bird Flu that has brought the media’s focus back to West Bengal nor are we discussing the intricacies behind the 30 years of the Left Front rule. Here we are discussing the 3rd largest economy of India and the story of a Resurgent West Bengal that is in many ways leading the path of a ‘Resurgent India’. A further reading can surely help break a few stereotypes and enable us to have a more accurate and well informed understanding of one of the most important states of India and its proud people..
Now let’s have a peek inside the growth story that has turned it all around. West Bengal (hence forth to be referred as W.B.) has registered a high growth rate in real State Domestic Product (SDP) over the past 8 years and is one of the top ranking states in terms of growth in per-capita income (5.72% in ’04-’05 as against the corresponding national figure of 5.2%). It has attracted FDI of $119mn (’04-’06) spread over 178 new industrial units and according to volume of exports ranks 7th. Widely known for its equitable distribution of resources and an egalitarian social structure its performance according to HDI indices is especially impressive in literacy rate and life expectancy at birth. W.B. is also one of the most urbanized states and the sheer volume of its market (with a population of about 8 crores) makes it an attractive investment destination. The raising incomes and boom in urban renewal and economic activities have turned it into the 3rd largest sate in terms of savings. Its rural market too is undergoing a paradigm shift and is blessed with enormous potential in agriculture, farm produce, food processing and agro-based industries..
Agricultural sector in W.B. that supports 57% of its populace is blessed with a rare combination of 6 agro-climatic zones that make it among others the #1 in meat production, one of the largest producers of fish and the 2nd largest tea producing state. It also leads in the production of potato, rice, edible oils, pine apple and banana, though problems in this area regarding modern marketing mechanism and proper methods of preservation to bring down wastages remain. Floriculture in the state is also thriving with huge exports to countries like Netherlands, U.K., and those in the west Asia. While the rest of the country is going through enormous distress in the agriculture sector (read farmer’s suicide), W.B. has largely remained unaffected..
Not withstanding some glitches and hiccups the state government’s plan of re-industrialization has faced, W.B.’s industrial sector is ever growing. The proof in this regard is the massive investments it is attracting and has steadily become one of the favourite destinations for investors. The Sajjan Jindal group is setting up a 10mn tonne capacity integrated steel plant here- the largest of its kind in eastern India; this is apart from the 7 more steel plants coming up in the state. Global auto majors like TATA Motors, Telcon, Ashok Leyland and Urals (Russia) have already made or are considering huge investments in the state. Its more than 32,000 IT professionals working in over 233 companies here have put W.B. on the global map of IT expansion, with the government’s ambition of helping it become one of the 3 largest IT destinations of India. The services sector including IT contributes 57.15% of the SDP. The Retail sector too is experiencing a boom due to huge markets in nearby eastern and north eastern India..
Confirming the multi-dimensional nature of its growth story sectors like real estate, petro chemicals and power are also on a higher growth trajectory. The boom in the real estate have seen several high profile projects coming up in important towns like Kolkata, Siliguri, Asansol and Bardhman including the Indonesia based Salim Group’s Calcutta West International City (having the largest FDI in a township project in India). The state also accounts for 4% of India’s petroleum products and 13% of her polymer production. Growth in this sector is far more impressive in terms of both investment volume and number of units being set up. In the power sector WBPDCL is the only power company in the eastern India with a surplus capacity that enables it to export power to other states, mainly to those in North India. Even infrastructural support for backing this growth story is impressive and is ever expanding..
Though I’m neither a leftist nor a regionalist and certainly not an upholder of all the wrongs that has taken place in Nandi gram and Singur, the growth story of my state has certainly impressed me. This has compelled me to share it with you, my friends, in a bid to put forward the picture of a new and resurgent W.B. and a few facts that are largely ignored or unattended to even by the people of the state. So W.B. and its people have lot more than its rich legacy and here is an increasingly thriving and prosperous state that is and will certainly be one of the front runners in the growth story of a resurgent India, which is due to become a global power soon..

**Sources:
· Frontline (Feb 29, 2008)
· Indian States at a Glance-West Bengal ’07-‘08 (PHDCCI)
· Issues of The Hindu and The Times Of India