Sanjeev Sanyal says ‘Eastern India paid huge price for Kolkata’s failure’

In a significant revelation during Republic India's Economic Summit on Tuesday, Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, engaged in a thought-provoking discussion with the Network's Chairman and Editor-In-Chief, Arnab Goswami. The dialogue brought to light the economic disparities between the Eastern and Western halves of India.

Sanyal emphasized that the conventional North-South divide discussion in India is “irrelevant” when considering economic growth. Instead, he underscored the importance of the “East-West divide”, stating that the Western half of India is experiencing radical economic growth compared to the Eastern half. Regions like Western Uttar Pradesh and Western Madhya Pradesh are notably more prosperous than their Eastern counterparts, he said. 

The key takeaway from Sanyal's insights is that rapid economic growth is fundamentally an urban activity. Across India, areas with substantial urban development have witnessed accelerated growth. Specifically, he highlighted Delhi NCR in the North, the Bombay-Pune region in Western India, and the triangle formed by Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore in the South as prime examples.

Kolkata, the real failure

However, Sanyal pointed out a significant challenge in the East, particularly in Kolkata. Describing it as the "real failure" in Eastern India, he stressed that Kolkata, being disproportionately large in the region, needs to undergo rapid growth to propel the entire Eastern region forward. 

Sanyal proposed that for Eastern India to prosper, Kolkata must achieve a remarkable 15% year-on-year growth rate for two decades. This, he argued, would catalyze the growth of cities like Bhubaneswar, Patna, and Ranchi.

When asked about the factors hindering growth in Kolkata, Sanyal attributed it to a combination of issues, including a historical intellectual failure. He traced back to the 1970s when Kolkata was not only the intellectual and cultural capital of India but also its financial and industrial hub. 

The city's subsequent decline, according to Sanyal, is a consequence of a significant “intellectual lapse”, impacting Eastern India on a substantial scale.