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Kolkata is one of the largest cities in India, which covers an area of 1,480 sq km, and is the capital city of West Bengal (WB). Named as the Jewel of the East by the Britishers, Kolkata is a commercial and financial hub of the east and north east India, and is home to many industrial parks and SEZs. The cluster also houses many domestic and foreign firms from the banking, insurance, tea cultivation, electronics and other sectors.

The state government set up the first software technology park in Kolkata during 1992-93. Abundant talent pool, reliable power supply, quality and cost of living act as key enablers of the knowledge-based industries in Kolkata. The key products manufactured and traded in the Kolkata cluster are electric fans, hosiery, readymade garments, leather goods, dal mills, mechanical engineering equipment and wood products.

Infrastructure

Kolkata is a pivotal industrial district of West Bengal. It has good railway, road facilities and widespread bus services, circular rail and underground rail facilities. Besides, the district also has adequate power supply. The industrial estates of the cluster are located at Khidderpore, Behela, Kasba, Old Tangra, New Tangra, Pagladanga, Taratala and Ultadanga.

Kolkata has a developed physical and social infrastructure that upholds its attractiveness among domestic as well as international investors. The state government has emphasised on building new infrastructure and on strengthening the existing infrastructure in the city to further boost investments; it also encourages public-private partnerships to develop, upgrade and maintain infrastructure facilities in Kolkata.

1. Roads: Some of the key initiatives taken by the government in the roads sector in Kolkata are:
   
   1. The North-South Economic Order has been developed with the support of ADB at a cost of US$ 210 million to
      link the southern ports of Haldia and Kolkata with the northern hinterland of the state.
      
   2. Four-laned NH31 from Kolkata to Dalkhola.
   3. NH2, which connects Kolkata to New Delhi, has been widened to 4 lanes. The Durgapur and Kona Expressways are fully operational and provide easier access to Kolkata from NH2.
2. Railway: Kolkata is one of the four metropolitan cities of India. The first underground railway project in India, the Kolkata Metro Railway, was started in Kolkata. The railway networks’ two zonal offices are in Kolkata namely Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway. The government has introduced rail-based Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) project in Kolkata to provide reliable, safe and pollution-free rail journey for commuters of the city.
3. Airways: Kolkata has one airport named Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport that connects the city to the rest of India and other major cities of the world. In FY08, the international and domestic passenger traffic at the Kolkata airport was 0.94 mn and 6.46 mn, respectively.



4. Ports: Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia Dock System (HDS) are the two docks of Kolkata Port Trust. In FY09, the Kolkata Port Trust ranked fifth among all major ports in India in terms of traffic handled and ranked second among Indian major ports in terms of coking coal handling. During FY09, the Kolkata Port Trust handled traffic and coking coal of 54.05 mn tonnes and 5.93 mn tonnes, respectively. The KDS and HDS together handled 7.825 mn tonnes of container traffic in FY09 as compared with 7.536 mn tones in FY08.
   
   In FY09, KDS handled traffic of 12.42 MT and HDS contributed 41.62 MT, which took the total traffic handled by Kolkata Port Trust to 54.05 MT.



5. Communication infrastructure: The Kolkata cluster is known for excellent international and last mile telecom connectivity. It provides more than 580 mbps of international satellite connectivity through VSNL and STPI and two satellite earth stations at Kharagpur and Durgapur. While the cable connectivity is provided through leased BSNL lines to Mumbai, the onward connectivity is provided through submarine cables. Reliance Infocom, Vodafone and Bharti Airtel are the other major players of the cluster.

Industrial set-up

The economic condition of WB has been developed by the trade and industry in Kolkata. The Government of WB focuses on industrial development investments for faster economic development. The cluster has staged incredible performances in the sectors of IT, real estates, electronics, apparel and plastic products.

The state government pays more attention to the sectors such as IT, plastics and apparels. The other major industries in Kolkata are architecture and designing, cosmetics, jewellery, sports goods, rubber, media and entertainment. Kolkata has ample business potential due to its strong infrastructure, cheap and skilled labour, and proactive government policies.

The industries in Kolkata are well-supported by some major companies that are operating in different sectors. The table below contains a list of some major companies that are operating in Kolkata.

Industrial infrastructure

1. Industrial parks: The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation has developed sector-specific industrial parks for rapid industrial growth. Some of the industrial parks that were developed in the Kolkata cluster are as follows:
   1. Manikanchan SEZ spread over 5 acres of land for gems and jewellery in Salt Lake, Kolkata
   2. Shilpangan (Light Engineering Parks) for light engineering products with an area of 2.28 acre
   3. Garment Park spread over a 9-acre land.
2. Intelligent parks: The intelligent parks in the cluster act as a major attraction for the IT and ITeS companies. Many
   software companies head towards this cluster to carry out their software development and BPO operations at low costs. Many private entrepreneurs and realtors have made use of this opportunity and have set up state-of-the-art intelligent buildings and IT parks in the city to provide intelligent space for IT and ITeS companies.
3. Special Economic Zones (SEZ): The list of SEZs in the Kolkata cluster is given below:

Industry associations

Many associations operate in Kolkata for the development and promotion of industries. Some such associations are listed in the table below.

Financial institutions in Kolkata

1. West Bengal Financial Corporation: The corporation, which was established under the State Financial Corporation Act, provides loans, assistance and term finance to small and medium-scale industries.
2. West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd: The corporation was established by the WB government to provide assistance for creation of infrastructure facilities for primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the state. The corporation also helps the government in securitising loans.
3. West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd: The corporation acts as a financial institution to large and medium-scale sectors. It provides various loan schemes, term loans, short-term loans, equity participation, equipment refinance scheme, bridge loan and bill discounting facilities.
4. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI): The business areas of the bank serve the small-scale industrial units in terms of production, employment and exports. The bank has a pan India network. The bank provides products and services of direct finance, bill finance, international finance, micro finance and government subsidy schemes.

Government initiatives and policies

• Kolkata Environmental Improvement Project (KEIP): This project has been initiated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to detain the environmental degradation and to improve quality of life in Kolkata. KEIP also aims to improve the governance practices and service delivery mechanism of KMC to the poor.
• Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP): The programme involves promotion of technology upgradation in clusters for a group of MSE units of one industry. This programme has been carried on in the Kolkata cluster for the industries of leather gloves, rubber molded items, fan manufacturing and hosiery products through their implementing agencies MSME-DI and Government of WB.
• Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for technology up gradation of the small scale industries (CLCSS): This scheme is initiated by SIDO in WB for the SSI sector in leather and leather products, IT, electronic industry and auto parts among others. This scheme aims to facilitate technology upgradation in the SSI sector by providing 12% capital subsidy for induction of proven technologies. The firms eligible for this scheme are sole proprietors, partnership firms, co-operative societies, and private and public limited companies.
• West Bengal Incentive Scheme 2007 for Micro and Small Enterprises (WBIS 2007 for MSEs): In 2007 the Government of WB introduced the WBIS for promoting the micro and small-scale enterprises in the state. The scheme will be in force till FY12. This scheme is valid to all upcoming manufacturing sector MSEs and to the expansion projects of the existing units. The units that can benefit from this scheme maybe from private sector, cooperative sector, joint sector, state government companies/ undertakings industrial SHGs. The eligible micro and small unit will get interest subsidy up to 30% and 25%, respectively, of the annual interest liability for a term loan borrowed from a commercial bank or financial institution. According to the scheme, the eligible micro and small units will get other benefits such as incentive for generation of employment, refund of stamp duty and registration fee, subsidy for conversion for use of piped gas, incentive for patent registration and subsidy for quality improvement, which includes reimbursing expenditure incurred for modernisation of units.
• Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI): This scheme was announced by the Central government to make the industries more productive, competitive and to facilitate their sustainable development. This scheme aims to develop clusters of traditional industries in various parts of the country and to put up innovated skills, improved technologies, market intelligence and new models of public private partnerships. Financial assistance will be given to product development and design, market promotion assistance to mention some.
• The West Bengal State Support for industries Scheme 2008 (WBSSIS-2008): This scheme is initiated by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, and is eligible for industrial projects of large and medium-scale units to be laid down in the state. The benefits offered to the units are interest subsidy, waiver of electricity duty on the electricity consumed for production activity, additional incentive on employment generation and additional incentives for investments made.
• In the power segment, the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency has set up the largest energy education park in the country in Kolkata.
• SIDBI has opened dedicated micro finance branches in the cluster to deliver micro finance services through intermediaries in a timely and customer-friendly manner. One of the primary objectives to set up these branches in Kolkata has been to give an impetus to micro finance programmes in the unmerited areas.