Kolkata Economy and Real Estate Thread

[Cosmicbliss]

Why is WB in such a poor situation financially? Decline of industries and flight of capital means shrinking of tax base and less big businesses to tax on the one hand and a vast government administrative structure means huge expenditure on the other? Moreso, it is revenue expenditure not development expenditure.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by murlee

What is the debt to GSDP ratio of WB?

The commies claim 40.8% and 11th rank amongst states. That must be based on budget estimates. However I checked latest RBI and the revised estimate is 42% making it number 1 amongst major states and 8th amongst all states. The budget estimate for the year under TMC shows 39% with no ranking change. The revised estimates will probably come out next year.

Originally Posted by murlee

In almost all TV programs, I hear Derek Brien saying every child born in Bengal has a Rs 21,000 debt on his/her head..

Well the Quizmaster probably knows his facts. The commies haven't denied that claim. But they have countered it with this [from Telegraph]

Claim: Bengal has the highest debt burden and each child is born with a debt of Rs 21,000.

Rebuttal: Per capita debt is not the proper measure to compare indebtedness of states. Even if it is used, Bengal is 12th among major states as the per capita debt burden is much higher in Punjab (Rs 26,000), Gujarat (Rs 22,000). Per capita debt burden for an Indian is Rs 32,321.

As you can see, when it comes to statistics, politicians and politically biased economists only give a small glimpse of the whole picture. They assume that 99.9% of people will not cross check what they say or look at both sides of the coin.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by Cosmicbliss

Why is WB in such a poor situation financially? Decline of industries and flight of capital means shrinking of tax base and less big businesses to tax on the one hand and a vast government administrative structure means huge expenditure on the other? Moreso, it is revenue expenditure not development expenditure.

Probably true. But are the finances of the other states really that good? How does India compare? I think only a handful of states are in good shape. But I am not an economist. So cannot make any comments with authority. People like sscaddict, memumbaikar have a better handle on such things.

[m_1973]

Good article written in context of UP but gives comparitive info from different states

http://udyogbandhu.blogspot.in/2011/...o-comfort.html

Originally Posted by Suncity

Probably true. But are the finances of the other states really that good? How does India compare? I think only a handful of states are in good shape. But I am not an economist. So cannot make any comments with authority. People like sscaddict, memumbaikar have a better handle on such things.

[AbhishekDatta]

I guess the MB's appeal worked...center opens its arms...time for the state to do its bit..

West Bengal Plan for 2012-13 finalized
India Blooms News Service



New Delhi, Apr 10 (IBNS) The Annual Plan for the year 2012-13 for West Bengal was finalised here on Tuesday at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.




The plan size has been agreed at Rs. 25910 crore.

In his comments on the performance of the state, Ahluwalia appreciated the efforts to improve plan utilisation with focus on inclusive growth.

He said more focused attention was needed to improve social infrastructure. Attention was drawn to regional disparities and it was pointed that a significant part of the state is relatively more backward economically, and also tends to be less advanced in term of human development.

He said the commission was willing to participate in State’s effort of expediting development process and offered to partner in pilot projects in the infrastructure sector so as to have demonstrative impact.

Ahluwalia said the commission was working on finalising 12th plan and would welcome suggestions from the State Government on initiatives needed to improve effectiveness of the centrally sponsored schemes.

He said health and education would continue to have focus during the plan. Need to explore PPP model in development of social sector was also stressed.

The state government was appreciated for the priorities outlined in the draft 12th plan and it was appreciated that science and technology was being taken as a driver for socio-economic development.

On the economic front it was noticed that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSPD) at the constant (2004-05) prices increased from Rs. 208656 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 340234 crore in 2011-12. In terms of GSDP growth rate the State has shown upward trend except 2008-09 and 2010-11.

Overall, the growth rate which was 6.29% in 2005-06, it increased to 7.06% in 2011-12. The per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) increased from Rs. 22649 in 2004-05 to Rs. 34229 in the year 2011-12.

The growth rate of agriculture and allied sector showed an upward trend ranging between 2% to 6% except 2008-09 where it was negative i.e. -2.21%. The growth rate in industry was uneven. Even the growth in service sector has not shown any dramatic change over the period of time and it stagnated at 9%-10%.

Briefing the Commission on the development strategy of West Bengal, Banerjee said that despite financial constraints the state has grown at a rate of 11.76 per cent.

She said her government was aiming at inclusive growth with sustainable development so as create adequate employment opportunities and food security to all. Improving agriculture would be a major priority of the State Government and it would aim at achieving four per cent growth through enhanced irrigation and flood control capacity.

She said efforts are on to rebuild industrial sector for which focus is on skill development and infrastructure development.

She said development of social and infrastructure is on the top priority of the government and private sector is being encouraged to join in this effort of the Government through public private partnership route. In the rural development target is to reduce poverty to 25-28 per cent from 43 per cent.

Rate of payment under MGNREGA has been raised to Rs 135 per day.

At least 65 lakh BPL household will be covered under the scheme.

The state government has requested Government of India to include three more districts in the central list of backward districts so that development in these districts can be funded under BRGF.

She said 75 new schools with residential facility are being set up.

On development of Sundarban, she said the proposal includes connecting every island to be connected through fast, safe and affordable boat service. All inhabited centres to be connected with good roads and bridges.

http://www.indiablooms.com/BusinessD...ils100412e.php

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

West Bengal Plan for 2012-13 finalized

On the economic front it was noticed that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSPD) at the constant (2004-05) prices increased from Rs. 208656 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 340234 crore in 2011-12. In terms of GSDP growth rate the State has shown upward trend except 2008-09 and 2010-11.

Overall, the growth rate which was 6.29% in 2005-06, it increased to 7.06% in 2011-12.

Briefing the Commission on the development strategy of West Bengal, Banerjee said that despite financial constraints the state has grown at a rate of 11.76 per cent.

11.76 or 7.06? I guess they are referring to different things?

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

Even the growth in service sector has not shown any dramatic change over the period of time and it stagnated at 9%-10%.

Even a 9-10% growth rate is considered stagnant. That is a good thing.

[Rajarshi77]

Godrej Properties (GPL), the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, today announced that it has entered into an agreement for developing approximately 1.36 acres of land in the posh area of Alipore on Burdwan Road, in Kolkata.

The project is envisioned as a luxury project with modern specifications and state-of-the-art amenities, and will be 14 storey tall.

http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/sto...dir=2012/04/17

[samrat_m]

Great. Luxury residential ventures are the essence these days in Kolkata.

[Rajarshi77]

Originally Posted by samrat_m

Great. Luxury residential ventures are the essence these days in Kolkata.

I am told that hi end flats are selling more quickly than the budget flats..

[studdmanster]

Yes that's true...

[studdmanster]

cc: TNN

On the eve of completing one-year term,the state has given renewed focus on industry.
After the new land bill in March,proposing to relax land ceiling laws for industry,the state government is approaching Union ministry of environment and forests for lifting moratorium on new projects in the industrial belts of Haldia,Asansol and Howrah.
There is a blanket ban on new industrial projects as well as for expansion of existing projects in these areas by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).The ban,which was earlier extended up to March 2012 by CPCB,has been extended indefinitely by the central agency recently.
State industry minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters that chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already approached the ministry of environment and forests for lifting the ban.The ban is affecting investments in Haldia and other region which is critical for the development of the state, he said.Chatterjee added that the state government is taking industry on board in its effort to lift ban.The industry minister convened the meeting of the core group on industry on Wednesday,the first after the introduction of the new land bill,to discuss issues related to land and moratorium on investment in some industrial clusters.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had decided to observe a moratorium on the environment clearance in highly polluting industrial clusters till it comes up with a comprehensive strategy to check pollution.They imposed moratorium based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI ).There are 43 industrial clusters in the country that are facing the ban.Haldia has CEPI of 75.43 followed by 74.8 of Howrah and 70.2 of Asansol.Anything beyond 70 is being considered highly polluting.
According to Chatterjee,Bengal Chamber of Commerce (BCCI) has taken initiative to conduct a study on the pollution in Haldia.We have requested industry bodies to take up the issue.BCCI has approached IIT Delhi in this regard, he added.Partha S Bhattacharyya,senior vice president of BCCI and MD of Haldia Petrochemicals said that IIT Delhi did the CEPI study for different industrial clusters.We want to conduct a study through them only.BCCI will carry a sub cluster analysis in Haldia to identify those industries which are causing pollution.There are industries which are not polluting much,so ban on those can be lifted, he added.

[elisonduncan]

A nowadays economy rate are very high so all goods asset service price also increase. In Kolkata as also developed and his economy rate also increase. A vast government administrative structure means huge expenditure so easy or law rate tax on invest.

[AbhishekDatta]

surprisingly refreshing..

Labour unrest and strikes cost over Rs 500 cr in 2011
TNN | May 22, 2012, 02.36AM IST

NEW DELHI: Labour unrest and strikes resulted in a production loss of at least Rs 502.6 crore last year, over three times more than that of the previous year.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Monday, labour and welfare minister Mallikarjun Kharge said production loss had touched Rs 597 crore in 2009, but it was contained to only Rs 167 crore in 2010. However, the statement did not mention any production loss in Haryana in 2011, though the country's largest car maker Maruti had said it had lost at least Rs 1,600 crore due to strike by workers at its Manesar plant.

The statement said 1.2 lakh mandays were lost in Haryana due to strikes and lockouts. Similarly, the reply mentioned "zero" production loss in the case of West Bengal and Maharashtra during 2011, though both the states reported mandays loss for the same period.

Kharge mentioned that production loss in Gujarat was the highest with Rs 210.4 crore and there were a total 28 disputes. Though the number of disputes was the maximum in Kerala at 31, the total production loss was only Rs 29.2 crore.

On the mechanism put in place for resolution of such disputes the minister stated that the Industrial Disputes Act facilitates intervention, mediation and conciliation by the industrial relation machinery for resolution of industrial disputes.

[Rajarshi77]

Originally Posted by AbhishekDatta

The statement said 1.2 lakh mandays were lost in Haryana due to strikes and lockouts. Similarly, the reply mentioned "zero" production loss in the case of West Bengal and Maharashtra during 2011, though both the states reported mandays loss for the same period.

Wow...

[Rajarshi77]

Hang on.. What does it mean- zero production loss but there were mandays lost.. Does it mean that these mandays were not in production/ manufacturing side.. pretty confusing..

[AbhishekDatta]

I guess it means even if some mandays were lost but the total output remained same as estimated either through extra hours or increasing productivity..

[AbhishekDatta]

I don't have the statistics for the previous years so can't compare but the new figures are pretty encouraging for manufacturing sector...

[samrat_m]

Surprisingly, Good for Bengal.

[AbhishekDatta]

Amazing 65 lakh to 60,000... hope it continues!!

Survey shows sharp fall in strikes, rise in mandays
Suman Chakraborti, TNN | May 23, 2012, 06.17AM IST

KOLKATA: Mamata Banerjee, known to be a staunch believer in the motto: Work comes first, has finally been able to make an impact on the people of Bengal. The work force in the state seems to have woken up to the chief minister's 'no strike' call. Going by statistics, the mandays lost due to bandhs have dropped manifold.

In a recent survey conducted Workers across the state seem to have responded to chief minister Mamata Banerjee's appeal 'no strike' appeal, going by the labour department, survey that shows the number of mandays lost due to strikes declined to 60,000 in 2011-12 from 65.80 lakh in 2010-2011.

State labour minister Purnendu Bose said that the finding was very encouraging. "The report shows that strikes in factories across the state have come down and work days have increased," Bose said. finding is interesting,

Considering the fact that most strikes were held when the Trinamool Congress was in the opposition, the statistics are motivating.

The report makes a comparative analysis on how the number of mandays lost declined. It further elucidates how the says the new government adopted a proactive and balanced approach to industrial disputes, based on its 'Save Industry, Save Workers' principal that strongly discourages work stoppage.

"Working on this approach, we have found that while 68 lakh mandays were lost in 2009-10 and 65.80 lakh in 2010-2011, only 60,000 mandays were lost in 2011-2012. These figures, however, do not include lockouts in factories. The report also says that mandays lost due to lockouts have substantially declined in 2011-12 as compared to the previous years," said Bose.

The minister said that there have been very few strikes in the last one year. Apart from a statewide strike by Left trade unions on February 28 which raised a lot of this year raised controversy, Besides, there have been strikes for about 10 to 12 days in the North Bengal tea gardens. The labour department is currently working on the coming out with

'Samajik Mukti Cards' that will be issued soon to the workers in the for unorganized sector. workers that Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced this at a programme in Salt Lake stadium earlier this year. "We are trying hard to introduce this card by June," the minister said.

The Samajik Mukti Cards will somewhat resemble a smart card and help workers in the unorganized sector to avail of several benefits. smart card like card that will entitle unorganized sector workers to several benefits.

At present, there are about one lakh workers in the unorganized sector which workers who include those from the various self help groups.

The department is also working on setting up a first-of-its-kind computerized employment bank. The database will have names and details of all those people who have enrolled themselves. where details of those who have enrolled will be on a computerized data base.

Those enrolled will also have online access to information about jobs available in particular fields. Currently, some 68 lakh unemployed people are enrolled in about the 70 employment exchanges across the state.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/13403386.cms

[Sumanb]

This is indeed a positive news .... the 'anti bandh' and anti - militant trade unionism policies of the current govt are among the most positive policy decisions by the current govt