Bengal - At a Glance

West Bengal is situated in eastern India and shares its borders with Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Sikkim and Assam. The State also shares international borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The Bay of Bengal is at the south of the State.

West Bengal: The New Economic Powerhouse

West Bengal's GDP has been growing at an average of 12.6% between 2015-16 and 2020-21. It increased three times from Rs. 4.74 lakh crore in 2011 (US$63.83 billion) to Rs. 14.44 lakh crore (USD 206.64 billion) in 2020-21.

IN LAST 10 YEARS, (2010-11 to 2020-21):

Tax revenue increased from Rs. 21,000 crore to Rs. 60,288 crore [Down from Rs. 66,000 crore in the previous year due to the pandemic] Capital expenditure increased from Rs. 2,225 crore to Rs. 13,034 crore. [Peak of Rs. 23,717 crore in 2018-19] Physical Infrastructure Sector expenditure increased from Rs. 1,758 crore to Rs. 4,366 crore. [Down from Rs. 6,803 crore in the previous year to the pandemic] Agriculture and Allied Sector Expenditure increased from Rs. 3,029 crore to Rs. 20,757 crore [Up from Rs. 18,603 crore in the previous year] Social sector expenditure increased from Rs. 6,845 crore to Rs. 40,297 crore [Up from Rs 38,490 crore in the previous year]
Universities increased from 12 to 47 (including those for technical education, medical education, animal resource development and agriculture); Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) increased from 80 to 278; Polytechnics increased from 65 to 185; Medical Colleges increased from 10 to 25; Nursing schools/colleges increased from 23 to 106; Paramedical schools/colleges increased from 30 to 129; 42 Multi Super Speciality Hospitals set up 1,29,520 km rural road constructed/strengthened Average Annual Income of farmers increased from Rs. 91,000 to Rs 3,25,00 Volume of IT Exports increased from Rs. 8,335 crore to Rs. 26,000 crore Number of MSME Clusters increased from 49 to 550

Along with all these, Health (diagnosis, treatment, medication) became free for all citizens of West Bengal; Free ration coverage increased to approx. 11 crore people; Universal monthly pension scheme started for the aged within SC/ST communities; lifelong monthly pension for widows; and a monthly income for all women heads of families throughout the State.

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