Demographic Advantage

Being the fourth most populous state in India, West Bengal is home to 91 Mn people, constituting 7.55% of the total population of the country. About 32% of the state's population lives in the urban regions, according to the 2011 Census, and population density stands at 1,028 inhabitants per square km, making it the second most densely populated state in India.

In recent years, the worker-population ratio and labour force participation rate for 15-59 years of age have also seen a rise and are recorded at 60.3% and 61.8%, respectively, in the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23. The state also has a male-female ratio of 950 females per 1,000 males, which is higher than the national average of 943.

Healthcare Facilities

The healthcare in the state of West Bengal has witnessed robust growth of healthcare infrastructure, aimed at enhancing the well-being of people of the state. With 41 fully operational super-specialty hospitals, there are 5,241 subcentres, 783 primary health centres, and 436 urban primary health centres as of December 2021. The infant mortality rate has been recorded at 22 per 1000 live births in the state.

The state has an All India Institute of Medical Sciences Kalyani to offer OPD services to the people in the state. In addition, the state government has also launched the Patho Bandhu project for immediate response to road accident victims. Furthermore, private empaneled hospitals offer cashless indoor treatment services up to INR 1.5 lakh per indoor treatment, and for certain diseases, they also reimburse the costs of outpatient treatment.

Educational Facilities

West Bengal's literacy rate is 76.26%. It has historically been the hub for the modern education system. The state remains a significant hub for a variety of technical and literary courses, catering to students from all over the country.

The state boasts of prestigious institutes like the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the Institute of Technology Kharagpur, the Indian Statistical Institute, NIT, Durgapur, Calcutta University, Presidency University, etc., offering wide academic disciplines. As in 2023-24, there are 267 AICTE-approved institutes in the state offering technical courses like architecture and pharmacy. In order to promote quality education, the state government has also introduced schemes such as the West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme, which allows students studying in the state, outside the state, or abroad to receive loans up to INR 10 lakh at nominal interest rates.

Technology & Advancement

A Patent Information Centre has been established in the state to promote the role of science and technology for the benefit of people and facilitate intellectual property rights.
With the presence of global software players like IBM, TCS, Cognizant, the state serves as an important hub for domains in the IT sector like big data and analytics system integration.

A Technology Development and Adaption Centre has also been established to nurture the S&T ecosystem. Facilitating the growth of technology and science, the State Remote Sensing Centre, through remote sensing and geographic information systems, provides documents and state-of-the-art tools to assist government departments in planning and monitoring various projects.

Infrastructure

Bounded by the Bay of Bengal, West Bengal is an important destination for maritime trade. Haldia Port, the first green port of the country, and Kolkata Port serve as prime cargo ship handling dock systems in the region.

Additionally, for cost-efficient and eco-friendly shipping operations for cargo transportation and tourism, West Bengal has a 560-kilometer-long Haldia-Farakka stretch, which is 

declared National Waterway 1 (NW1). The state government has identified rivers to be developed for national waterway services.

Airline transportation also connects West Bengal to major regions in the world. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, the fifth busiest international airport in India, and another international airport at Bagdogra provide connectivity to the rest of India and countries across the globe. The country's first private greenfield airport is also being developed in the Andal region.

With a running track length of more than 7,000 km spanned across 800+ stations, the railway is also another important mode of transport for people and goods. The Kolkata Metro network also boosts the transit services in the state, and recently the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade Metro section, having the first underwater metro transportation in the country, has been inaugurated, aimed at decongesting traffic on the roads.

Furthermore, the state has the third largest road network in the country and is served by ~3,15,404 km of road network, and the state government has taken up initiatives to expand and modernise the infrastructure of the state.

Sustainability Initiatives

In order to promote sustainability, resilience, safety, and environmental friendliness, the state has initiated the Green City Mission. This initiative aims to expand the green areas in West Bengal, improve energy efficiency by installing LED bulbs in public spaces, encourage the use of battery-operated vehicles, and introduce Green Buildings, among other initiatives.

To ensure sustainability, a CNG conversion project for vehicles has also been initiated, and the state government has also decided to make a fishing island, Nayachar, into a mega solar park and mega fisheries hub, thus strengthening the renewable energy initiatives and aquaculture logistics of the state.