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West Bengal
Area : 88,752 sq km
Population : 80,176,197
Capital : Kolkata
Principal Languages : Bengali
History and Geography
The State of Bengal finds a coveted place, even in
pre-historic times. At the time of Alexander's invasion,
a powerful kingdom called Gangaridai ruled over Bengal.
Ascendancy of the Guptas and the Mauryas had somewhat
little effect on Bengal. Later, Sasanka became King of
Bengal, and is said to have played an important role in
north-eastern India in the early half of the seventh
century. He was succeeded by Gopala, who founded the
Pala dynasty, which ruled for centuries and had created
a huge empire. The Palas were followed by the Sena
dynasty, which was ended by Muslim rulers from Delhi.
Bengal was ruled by various Muslim rulers and governors
till the Mughal period in sixteenth century.
After the Mughals, history of modern Bengal began with
the advent of European and English trading companies.
Battle of Plassey in 1757 changed the course of history,
when the English first gained a strong foothold in
Bengal and India. In 1905, it was partitioned to achieve
some political returns but people’s growing movement
under the of Congress led to the reunion in 1911. This
triggered off hectic movement for freedom, which
culminated with Independence in 1947, and the partition
thereafter.
After 1947, the merger of native settlement began, which
ended with its final reorganisation in 1956 (as per
Recommendations of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956),
when some Bengali speaking areas of a neighbouring state
were transferred to West Bengal. The land frontier of
the State touches Bangladesh in the east, and is
separated from Nepal in the west. Bhutan lies in the
north-east, while Sikkim is on the north. On the west
are the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, while in the south
lies Orissa, and the Bay of Bengal, washing its southern
frontiers.
Agriculture
Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the State’s economy
and nearly three out of every four persons are directly
or indirectly involved in agriculture. The total food
production in the State in 2004-05, was 16107.2 thousand
tonnes. During 2004-05, the production of rice was
14884.9 thousand tonnes, of wheat 841.5 thousand tonnes
and of pulses 167.3 thousand tonnes respectively. The
production of oilseeds during the same period was 556.8
thousand tonnes and of potato 7106.6 thousand tonnes.
The production of jute was 7853.2 thousand bales in
2004-05.
Industry
In 2005 the number of approved industrial proposals in
the State was provisionally estimated to be 386 with a
total investment of Rs 17968.41 crore. In this period
from 1991 to 2004, approved industrial investment
proposals received by the State were 4029 involving a
total investment of Rs. 75720.59 crore. In the period
from 1991 to 2004, 991 projects with a total investment
of Rs. 26680.14 crore were implemented. In 2005,
according to the available information, 161 projects
with a total investment of Rs. 1914.72 crore were
implemented in the State. On 31 December 2005, 65 major
projects (projects with investment over Rs. 25 crore)
with a total investment of Rs. 8987 crore under
implementation in West Bengal. The largest number of
major projects under construction is located in Burdwan
followed by Purba Medinipur. In the industrially
backward district of Bankura, 7 major industrial
projects are coming up. Six of these are in the iron and
steel industry and the other is a cement unit. In
Purulia, another industrially backward district, 5 major
projects are under construction. The four projects are
in the iron and steel industry and the other is a cement
unit.
While industrial investment has been increasing
specially from the beginning of this decade, the
employment potential of most units is much lower than
the old labour intensive units in existence in the
State. In these circumstances the need is to increase
manifold industrial investment in the State. The State
Government has been able to overcome the earlier
misgivings of investors in investing in a State under a
pro-labour government.
In conjunction with practical measures to sustain
investors' confidence, the State government has set in
place a number of policy initiatives. The State
government has promulgated in quick succession a
Bio-technology Policy, Mines and Mineral Policy,
Information Technology Policy and Policy for IT enabled
services.
The State Government has also been the first State
Government in India to formulate an act on Special
Economic Zone (SEZ). The first sector-specific SEZ in
India, Manikanchan Gem and Jewelry Park, has already
become The signing of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
agreement on 18 January 2006 would provide opportunities
as well as challenges to West Bengal, one of the border
states in India. The objective of SAFTA is to reduce
existing tariffs to less than five per cent within a
time frame so as to increase trade among SAARC
countries. operational in the State. The State is
perhaps one of the few states in India with surplus
power. The State Government has taken up a programme to
maintain this surplus situation in the coming years. In
addition to increasing significantly the installed power
generation capacity, the State government is also
implementing a number of schemes for improving and
extending the transmission and distribution network.
The State Government has also been improving the
physical and social infrastructure in the state
especially in urban areas. It has also been trying to
improve the road connectivity in the State by
constructing new roads or improving and strengthening
the existing road network. The 1600 crore Kolkata
megacity Programme is being implemented by the Kolkata
Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Under the
programme a total of 130 schemes weight a total cost of
Rs. 1267.33 crore in various sectors like water supply,
traffic and transportation, sewerage and drainage, solid
waste management, housing and area development,
commercial complex, busted improvement, environment
improvement were taken up. The Kolkata Improvement Trust
(KIT) also implements schemes under Kolkata Megacity
Programme (KMP). The Howrah Improvement Trust (HIT) is
also implementing schemes under KMP. Under KMP 1,768 km
of eastern drainage channel at Salt Lake has been
re-excavated. The most important infrastructural project
being implemented in the State is the Rajarhat New Town
Project covering an area of 3075 hectares in the north
eastern fringe of Kolkata. Land acquisition and
development have been completed in Action Area-I
covering 660 hectares. In action Area II covering an
area of 1050 hectares, land filling is in progress.
The Development Authorities formed to develop different
urban areas in the State are also implementing large
number of schemes. The West Bengal Industrial
Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC) is the
nodal state level agency for developing infrastructure
specifically for the industrial sector, WBIIDC has so
far developed 12 growth centres (industrial estates)
located at Kalyani (Phase-I, II & III), Falta, Uluberia,
Bishnupur, Raninagar, Cooch Behar, Malda, Dabgram,
Haldia and Kharagpur. The West Bengal Industrial
Development Corporation (WBIDC), the prime agency in the
state for promoting industries has in recent years been
increasingly involved in developing infrastructure for
the industry sector. With investment flow no longer a
problem, WBIDC's promotional activities could best be
supplemented by providing state of the art industry
specific 'parks' to investors.
The IT Department of the State Government is the prime
agency for promoting IT industry in the state. Within a
short time the IT industry has achieved significant
growth. At present total export earning of IT companies
located in Software Technology Park (STP) is Rs. 2000
crore. Presently 180 IT and 55 ITes companies are
operating in Kolkata providing employment to 35000
professionals. The Food Processing Industries and
Horticulture Department of the State Government Promotes
food processing industries in the State. The department
has been trying to motivate small entrepreneurs to
invest in the food processing industry. To reiterate it
sets up food parks, perishable goods cargo complexes,
quality control laboratories, etc.
Irrigation and Power
Irrigation potential created in the State through major
and medium irrigation projects in 2004-05 was
provisionally estimated at 1554.71 thousand hectares. At
present only two major irrigation projects. Teesta
Barriage Projects (TBP) and Sabarnarekha Barrage Project
(SBP) are being implemented in the State. In both these
projects the State is facing a number of constraints. As
a result of these constraints only 22,245 thousand
hectares of irrigation potential could be created in the
first three years of the 10th plan in 2002-03 to
2004-05. It is anticipated that 10,000 hectares in
2005-06 and in 2006-07 15,000 hectares of irrigation
potential will be created. So that total irrigation
potential created during the 10th Plan would be nearly
37 thousand hectares. Currently nine medium irrigation
schemes in the district of Puralia are continuing. A
total of 12.41 thousand hectares of irrigation potential
have been created through medium irrigation schemes in
the first three years of the 10th plan.
Power in West Bengal is currently generated by the West
Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited, West
Bengal State Electricity Board, Calcutta Electricity
Supply Corporation, Durgapur Project Limited, Disergarh
Power Supply Corporation etc. Total generation of power
produced by the State agencies was 17115 MU in 2005-06
(up to April to November 2005). The total number of
moujas electrified during 2005-06 (up to November 2005)
is 32552 and the total number of pump sets energised is
1,13,759.
Transport
Roads : The length of roads under state highways
is 3,354 km, under PWD 12,288 km, and that of the
district roads is 41,278 km respectively.
Railways : Howrah, Asansol, Sealdah, Bandel,
Bardhaman, Kharagpur and New Jalpaiguri are the main
junctions in West Bengal.
Festivals
Durga Puja is the most important festival along with
Kali Puja or Diwali besides Vasant Panchami, Lakshmi
Puja, Holi, Sivaratri, Janmasthami, Id-ul-Fitr, etc.
Tourist Centres
Important tourist centres are, among others Kolkata,
Digha (Midnapore), Bakkhali Sea Resort, Sagar Island and
Sundarbans (South 24-Parganas), Bandel, Tarakeswar,
Kamarpukur (Hooghly), Gadiara (Howrah), Shantiniketan
and Bakreshwar (Birbhum), Durgapur (Burdwan),
Mukutmanipur and Vishnupur (Bankura), Ayodhya Hills (Purulia),
Murshidabad, Gour and Pandua (Malda), Darjeeling, Mirik,
Kalimpong, Sandakfu and Falut and Kurseong (Darjeeling),
Jaldapara and Dooars (Jalpaiguri). |
