By PUJA MEHRA & ANITA JOSHUA
THE
HINDU, NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, April 26, 2014
The latest
National Sample Survey data show West Bengal topped in creation of new jobs in
the manufacturing sector among all States.
During the six
years between 2004 and 2011, more than 40 per cent of new manufacturing jobs
created in India were generated in the then Left-ruled West Bengal.
In all, 58.7
lakh manufacturing jobs were created across India.
Of these, 24
lakh were in West Bengal. With 14.9 lakh jobs, BJP-ruled Gujarat was a distant
second, shows the state-wise data accessed exclusively by The Hindu.
The data is
significant as the widespread resistance in 2008 to the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
government’s acquisition of farmland in Singur for a small car factory was
believed to have hit West Bengal’s attractiveness to industry. The State
eventually lost the Tata Nano factory project to Gujarat.
Even during
the anti-industrial campaign by the Trinamool Congress, allegedly with the help
of Maoists in 2007-08, the State achieved 12 per cent industrial growth, West
Bengal’s Finance Minister from 1987 to 2012 Asim Dasgupta toldThe Hindu.
It also
assumes significance as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi,
is touting “manufacturing” and “jobs” amongst his main planks in his election
campaign and also the ‘Gujarat model’.
“Our objective
in successive budgets was to increase the State Domestic Product in a manner
that will generate maximum possible employment. Even in our last year, 2010-11,
close to a lakh jobs were generated,” said Mr. Dasgupta.
“It is widely
known that the Assembly election victory of the Left Front in 2006 was seen by
Mr. Bhattacharjee as a vote for his emphasis on industrialisation,” said a West
Bengal-based Left leader.
Dr. Dasgupta
attributes the jobs performance to his government’s push to small-scale
industry.
West Bengal
has the largest number of small-scale manufacturing units, he said.
“Between 1991
and 2011— when we revised our industrial policy under Jyoti Basu — 2,531 new
big and medium units were set up.”
Best period of industrialisation
A Communist
Party of India(Marxist) source said that after the 1960s, the State saw its
best period of industrialisation during 2004-2011.
Small-scale
manufacturing enterprises were developed at the district level and all this
culminated in Singur.
Prior to
Singur, 1,872 middle and big industrial projects were developed during the
period.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/gujarat-behind-west-bengal-in-new-factory-jobs/article5948658.ece
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