Top News

West Bengal ranks among the most backward states, both in terms of the number of new companies registered and total foreign direct investment (FDI) attracted over the past few years, according to statistics compiled by two key Union Ministries.

According to statistics compiled by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Union Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the statistics on new companies registered nationally over the last three years show a poor performance for West Bengal in this regard.

As per the Central statistics, during the last three years, a total of 5.25 lakh new companies got registered nationally, out of which West Bengal’s figure was just 25,008, which is 4.76 per cent of the national figure.

The states far ahead of West Bengal on this count were Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, among others.

On the contrary, figures show that 2,227 companies shifted their bases or registered offices from West Bengal to other states during the last five-year period from 2019 to 2024.

Out of the 2,227 companies, 39 are listed with the Mumbai Stock Exchange. Under Section 13(4) of the Companies Act, 2013, a corporate entity has the freedom to shift its registration from one office to another, and there are several reasons for this shifting.

The most commonly perceived reasons for changes in the base of a company from one state to another are flexibility in operations, smooth management, the cost of company administration, and better infrastructure facilities.

As per the Central statistics, even in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, West Bengal cuts a sorry picture.

During the last six years, from 2019 to 2025, West Bengal’s position among the major Indian states in attracting foreign direct investment had been ninth, with the figure standing at just $663 million, as against Maharashtra’s figure of $26,204 million. Maharashtra had been the top among all Indian states on this count.

For quite some time, the economic and industry observers have been critical of two policies which they think pose major hurdles towards attracting big-ticket investment, both in the manufacturing and in the services sector.

First, the land policy of the state government that absolutely nullifies state intervention in procuring land for industries is a hurdle for land procurement for big industries in the manufacturing sector, which requires a huge plot of land in one go, especially in a state like West Bengal with fragmented land holdings.

Secondly, the state government’s announced policy of not allowing special economic zone (SEZ) status to any new entrant is a disincentive for major investment in the services, especially in the IT and ITeS sectors.