Investment & Business in West Bengal
Bank-financed private projects, Bengal Global Business Summit proposals, special economic zones and industrial parks.
In 2025-26 West Bengal had 3.2% of the cost of private projects sanctioned by banks and financial institutions in India, ranking 9th among states (RBI). The state's Budget Speeches state BGBS proposal totals of ₹2.2 to 2.8 lakh crore for the 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions. Proposals and sanctions are intentions, not investment made.
Key figures & data tables
In 2025-26, banks and financial institutions sanctioned 30 private projects in West Bengal, with 3.2% of the total project cost sanctioned across India (₹4,35,111 crore). West Bengal ranked 9 of 23 states. Its share was 1.2% in 2013-14 and 2.2% in 2024-25. These are projects a lender has appraised, not investment already made.
The state’s Budget Speeches give investment proposal totals for four editions of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS): ₹2,43,100 crore in 2015, ₹2,35,290 crore in 2017, ₹2,19,000 crore in 2018, ₹2,84,288 crore in 2019. The summit was also held in 2016, 2022, 2023, 2025, but no official document stating those totals could be found, so they are not shown. Proposals are not investment. The 2020-21 Budget Speech states that ₹4.45lakh crore of investment in large industries had “already fructified” from the first 5 summits; no project list was published with that claim.
As on 31.07.2026, West Bengal had 7 operational special economic zones (10 approved, 8 notified) out of 277 operational in India. WBIDC lists 29 industrial parks on its website.
The rows behind the charts above — 7 tables
›West Bengal: private projects sanctioned by banks and FIs, by year(13 rows)
RBI Bulletin (Sep 2026), "Private Corporate Investment: Growth in 2025-26 and Outlook for 2026-27", Annex Table A8. Share is of the total cost of private-sector projects sanctioned by select banks and financial institutions in the year. Projects spread over several states are counted as "multi-state", not in any state. These are investment intentions that a lender has appraised; they are not realised investment. The rupee amount for West Bengal is derived as share x total cost.
| Year | WB projects | WB share of project cost (%) | India projects | India project cost (₹ crore) | WB project cost, derived (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 12 | 1.2 | 472 | 1,27,328 | 1,528 |
| 2014-15 | 9 | 1.3 | 326 | 87,253 | 1,134 |
| 2015-16 | 14 | 3.1 | 346 | 91,781 | 2,845 |
| 2016-17 | 18 | 1.7 | 541 | 1,79,249 | 3,047 |
| 2017-18 | 14 | 1.8 | 485 | 1,68,239 | 3,028 |
| 2018-19 | 13 | 1.1 | 409 | 1,59,189 | 1,751 |
| 2019-20 | 7 | 0.9 | 320 | 1,75,830 | 1,582 |
| 2020-21 | 3 | 0.4 | 220 | 75,558 | 302 |
| 2021-22 | 11 | 2.6 | 401 | 1,42,173 | 3,696 |
| 2022-23 | 16 | 1 | 546 | 2,71,551 | 2,716 |
| 2023-24 | 28 | 2.3 | 944 | 3,91,203 | 8,998 |
| 2024-25 | 34 | 2.2 | 907 | 3,68,041 | 8,097 |
| 2025-26 | 30 | 3.2 | 1,032 | 4,35,111 | 13,924 |
›Share of private project cost by state, 2025-26(9 rows)
RBI Bulletin (Sep 2026), "Private Corporate Investment: Growth in 2025-26 and Outlook for 2026-27", Annex Table A8
| State | Share of project cost (%) |
|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 20.2 |
| Gujarat | 17.9 |
| Rajasthan | 11.1 |
| Karnataka | 7.9 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 5.8 |
| Tamil Nadu | 4.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 4.1 |
| Odisha | 3.3 |
| West Bengal | 3.2 |
›Bengal Global Business Summit: investment proposals stated in Budget Speeches(4 rows)
Totals are investment proposals announced by the state government at each summit, as restated in the next state Budget Speech. They are not realised investment. Editions with no official document stating a total (2016, 2022, 2023, 2025) are left out.
| Summit year | Proposals (₹ crore) | Document | PDF page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,015 | 2,43,100 | West Bengal Budget Speech 2015-16 | 73 |
| 2,017 | 2,35,290 | West Bengal Budget Speech 2017-18, para 5.32 | 40 |
| 2,018 | 2,19,000 | West Bengal Budget Speech 2018-19, para 3.13 (scanned; read by eye) | 31 |
| 2,019 | 2,84,288 | West Bengal Budget Speech 2020-21, para 4.41 | 84 |
›Special economic zones in West Bengal(3 rows)
Department of Commerce (SEZ India), State-wise distribution of SEZs, as on 31.07.2026. Totals include SEZs set up before the SEZ Act, 2005.
| Status | West Bengal | India |
|---|---|---|
| Approved (total) | 10 | 436 |
| Notified (total) | 8 | 372 |
| Operational | 7 | 277 |
›WBIDC industrial parks by district(11 rows)
WBIDC, "WBIDC Industrial Parks" (wbidc.com), retrieved 2026-11-12. Parks run by WBIDC only. Other state agencies (WBIIDC, WBSIDCL) run their own parks and growth centres, which are not counted here.
| District | Parks | Names |
|---|---|---|
| Kolkata | 1 | Paridhan – The Garment Park |
| Nadia | 1 | Haringhata Industrial Park, Haringhata |
| Paschim Medinipore | 7 | Kharagpur General Industrial Park, Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Garbeta Industrial Park, Sahachawk Industrial Park, Salboni Industrial Park, Godapiasal Industrial Park, Sadatpur Industrial Park |
| Purba Medinipur | 1 | Haldia Industrial Park |
| Purulia | 1 | Jangal Sundari Karmanagari |
| Bankura | 1 | Plasto Steel Park, Barjora |
| West Burdwan | 5 | Bengal Aerotropolis Project at Durgapur - Asansol, Panagarh Industrial Park, DPL Industrial Park, Durgapur, Dhakeswari Industrial Park, Burnpur, Mangalpur Industrial Park, Raniganj |
| Hooghly | 1 | Hooghly Industrial Park |
| Howrah | 7 | Sudha Ras Food Park, Kandua Food Park, Food Park - III, Poly Park, Gems & Jewellery Park, Ankurhati, Domjur, Uluberia Industrial Park, Howrah Industrial Park |
| South 24 Pargana | 1 | Budge Budge Industrial Park |
| North 24 Pargana | 3 | Manikanchan Special Economic Zone, Rishi Bankim Shilpaudyan Phase-II, Shilpangan – Light Engineering Park (Earlier Toy Park) |
›Industry sectors listed on the state portal(11 rows)
Government of West Bengal portal, "Industry Sectors" (wb.gov.in)
| # | Sector |
|---|---|
| 1 | Textile Industry |
| 2 | Automotives Industry |
| 3 | Foundry Industry |
| 4 | Leather Industry |
| 5 | Power and Energy Industry |
| 6 | Engineering Industry |
| 7 | Mining Industry |
| 8 | Maritime Industry |
| 9 | Chemical Industry |
| 10 | Rubber Industry |
| 11 | Solar Power Industry |
›Caveats on the figures on this page(3 rows)
| # | Caveat |
|---|---|
| 1 | BGBS totals are proposals announced by the state government, not investment made. |
| 2 | RBI project shares cover only private projects that sought bank/FI finance; projects financed internally, by bonds or abroad are not in them. |
| 3 | The WBIDC park count covers one agency only. |