Bid To Rebuild Bengal To Its Old Glory Is Welcome, Though Difficult

By Nantoo Banerjee

West Bengal’s first ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s resolve to rebuild the state to its “old glory” sounds good though reversing decades of economic stagnation and industrial decline remains an incredibly difficult challenge. Economically, West Bengal’s rank among Indian states has dropped from No.1 till the mid-1960s to below 10 now. Currently, even the 10th ranked Haryana counts more than 10,389 operating registered factories, serving as a major automotive, auto-component, and consumer goods manufacturing hub. Official statistics from the annual survey of industries indicate that West Bengal has only around 6,100 factories operating actively at any given time. Factory jobs are shrinking in traditional sectors. A severe talent paradox exists. Localized manufacturing in light engineering, food processing, and specialized textiles is actually facing massive mid-level technical vacancies.

Gone are the days when West Bengal was the country’s topmost Industrial state during the 1950s and partly through the mid-1960s. The decline started within three years of the death of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the state’s best performing chief minister. In the 1950s, Bengal accounted for nearly a quarter of the entire country’s industrial output. By the mid-1970s, the state was overtaken by Maharashtra. The Naxalite movement, Marxist-sponsored militant trade unionism, anti-MNC attitude of the Left parties, led by CPM, constant centre-state political clash, and frequent strikes led to production bottlenecks, forcing industrial houses to quit Bengal. More than three decades of Left rule (1977-2011), followed by 15 years of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime, triggered a continuous industrial decline of the state. Historically, the period between 1980 and 1981 was known as the “Death Cross” for the state, as its relative income dropped below the national average for the first time.

By 1991, Bengal accounted for over 40 percent of India’s lockout-related lost working days. As a result, large industrial giants and private capital relocated to states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. This shift from a manufacturing leader to an economic laggard was driven by several interconnected factors. Efforts to reverse the trend in the 2000s, such as the Tata Nano project in Singur, faced intense political opposition from TMC, further deterring large-scale manufacturing investments. Today, the state’s share of national industrial output has shrunk to around 3.5 percent. Although there have been some localized initiatives — such as developments in the Kharagpur industrial park or the Bantola leather complex — the state’s structural manufacturing and economic base remains heavily eroded compared to its 1950-60 peak.

During prolonged tenure of the Left and TMC rule, the state’s industrial scene was mostly controlled by a group of local businessmen in their own business interest. The latter discouraged outside investors, depicting an alarming political picture of the state, in national forums. Those local businessmen projected themselves as best well-wishers of the state government – first, the Left Front, and then TMC – for squeezing incentives for their survival and growth. Bengal experienced a severe and prolonged structural decline. This shift from a manufacturing leader to an economic laggard was driven by several interconnected factors. Today, the state features only some 200 industrial and economic parks driving manufacturing, with operations centred just around four industrial belts.

Among the states which have industrially overtaken Bengal over the years are: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Today, Tamil Nadu leads India with over 40,100 factories and employs the largest number of industrial workers. The state is a powerhouse for textiles, automobiles, and electronic hardware. Gujarat is home to over 33,300 factories. It is heavily dominated by petrochemicals, heavy manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and trade networks utilizing major ports. Maharashtra, the country’s wealthiest state by GDP, hosts over 26,500 factories. It is the premier hub for engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. UP has over 22,100 registered factories. Key sectors include agro-processing, heavy machinery, and defence manufacturing. Andhra Pradesh boasts over 16,000 factories. It thrives on pharmaceutical, food processing, and textile manufacturing. Karnataka hosts roughly 15,000 factories. Beyond IT and biotechnology, it is a leading hub for aerospace and heavy machinery.

West Bengal’s first BJP government will have to work really hard to attract large industrial investments in the state under the current national industrial backdrop. The automobile industry is known as the engine of growth all over the world. The state, which once housed the country’s biggest automobile production outfit and tyre manufacturing unit, must try to bring at least one national or multinational vehicle manufacturing company to set up a production unit. That will quickly change the industrial environment in Bengal. The existing industrial complexes in the Kolkata-Howrah region, the Durgapur-Asansol-Burnpur belt and Kharagpur must be helped and encouraged to grow fast. While most industrial outfits in the Kolkata-Howrah region focus on engineering, metal and alloy industries, leather products (Bantala), and garments, the industrial belt covering Haldia and East Midnapur houses petrochemical plants, oil refineries, and chemical/fertilizer manufacturing. The Durgapur-Burnpur belt is traditionally known for heavy machinery production, coal-bed methane exploration, and large-scale iron and steel production.

Thanks to large manufacturing investments by the Tata group, Kharagpur has quietly emerged as a rapidly growing hub for multi-product manufacturing, wagon plants, and food processing. The Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company operates on a 250-acre parcel in the Vidyasagar Industrial Park. This is one of their largest and most successful new generation manufacturing facilities in the country. It produces a wide range of excavators and heavy construction equipment. Tata Metaliks, a Tata Steel subsidiary, has a large plant at Kharagpur, manufacturing pig iron and ductile iron pipes. The site recently underwent a Rs. 600 crore expansion programme to scale up its production capacity.

The BJP government’s first budget, presented by Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, heavily prioritizes bringing back industries and businesses that had previously migrated to Northern and Western India. The ‘Revive Bengal Plan’ involves a Rs.5,000 crore makeover aimed at infrastructure development, logistics connectivity, and job creation to reverse past trends of de-industrialization and attract global companies. It is a major challenge before the state government. Rebuilding the industry takes time. With the national government by its side, the state must work fast to respond to the public expectation and demand. Fortunately, Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari’s council of ministers seems to be working in unison and collaborating toward a shared objective to make the state great again. (IPA Service)