West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has described Kolkata as a "city of old age pensioners," attributing this demographic shift to a significant exodus of young people seeking employment opportunities outside the state. Speaking at BT's India@100 event, Dasgupta highlighted a critical skill deficit and decades of economic stagnation as primary drivers for the youth migration to cities like Bengaluru, Gurugram, Noida, and even overseas.
Decades of Decline and Political Shifts
Dasgupta's comments come just months after the BJP formed its first government in West Bengal in May, ending Mamata Banerjee's 15-year tenure. As the new Finance Minister, he faces the daunting task of revitalizing an economy that has, in his words, experienced "a period of uninterrupted decline for 50 years." This decline, he noted, began with labor militancy in the 1960s and subsequent extreme left-wing turbulence.
A pivotal moment in the state's economic downturn, according to Dasgupta, was the Tata Group's exit from Singur. He recounted, "When the Tatas were literally booted out of the state, the message which went out to the rest of Bengal, to the rest of India, and indeed to the world was that if the Tatas can't do business in West Bengal, then who the hell are we to do anything?"
The Human Cost of Migration
The Finance Minister emphasized the human impact of this economic decline. During his campaign in South Kolkata, he observed a striking scarcity of young residents. "You ask people, where are your children? Their inevitable answer was - oh, they're in Bangalore, they're in Gurugram, they're in Noida, they've gone overseas. And people have just voted with their feet and left," he explained. While Bengalis are known to excel globally, many have left their home state behind to achieve success elsewhere.
Reversing the 'Anti-Business' Perception
A key challenge for the new administration will be to reverse a deeply ingrained "anti-business" perception in Bengal. Dasgupta acknowledged that this perception is more than just an idea; it's a reality that has hindered economic growth. Historically, Bengal was a major economic powerhouse, ranking second in India around the time of Independence, with Murshidabad being a global center for its silk industry.
While acknowledging that the state cannot simply recreate its past glory, Dasgupta outlined a vision for the future focused on reigniting manufacturing, boosting the services sector, and crucially, injecting "deep tech" into West Bengal. He conceded that the state has lost significant ground to other Indian states like Gujarat, Karnataka, and even Odisha, and cautioned against expecting rapid miracles in the turnaround process.