Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister, on Wednesday said that reviving Kolkata as a high-growth urban hub is the single most critical lever for accelerating development across the eastern half of India, which he described as "distinctively poorer" than the western half. Sanyal made the remarks at an event organised by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai, focused on the relative economic performance of Indian states.

East-West Divide, Not North-South

Sanyal challenged the widely discussed North-South narrative, arguing that the more pressing economic fault line runs along an East-West axis. "The relative performance of the Indian states shows one or two very clear trends. The first is the much talked about North-South divide, which is not the real economic crisis in the country. It is actually an East-West divide where the eastern half of India is distinctively poorer than the western half of the country," he said.

This framing shifts the policy conversation away from linguistic and cultural divides — which dominate public discourse — toward a structural economic geography that has received comparatively less attention from policymakers and investors alike.

Why Kolkata Is Central to the Solution

Sanyal argued that high growth across India is ultimately driven by a handful of high-growth urban hubs, and that eastern India conspicuously lacks one. In that context, he identified Kolkata as the natural candidate to fill that role. "Kolkata already has some clusters and a long, glorious history. Despite the last half century of decline, I would argue that the secret to reviving the eastern half of India must be about the revival of Kolkata, specifically," Sanyal remarked.

The city's existing industrial clusters, port infrastructure, and institutional legacy — built over more than two centuries — give it a foundation that greenfield alternatives in the region would take decades to replicate. Notably, this is not the first time economists have flagged Kolkata's unrealised potential; the city has featured in multiple growth commission reports over the past two decades without commensurate policy follow-through.

Industrialist Sanjiv Goenka Flags Investment Climate

Separately, Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of the RPSG Group and a Kolkata-born industrialist, expressed cautious optimism about West Bengal's evolving political landscape. Speaking to NDTV after election trends emerged, Goenka said a stable government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could help restore investor confidence and attract fresh capital into the state.

Goenka stressed that the focus should move away from concerns over outward migration of Bengalis toward building an environment that draws talent and capital in. "Policy consistency is crucial for industry," he said, warning that frequent regulatory changes or reversals deter long-term investment decisions.

Structural Reforms Needed, Says Goenka

Goenka also flagged the need for deeper structural reforms, specifically criticising urban land ceiling regulations, which he described as obsolete and a barrier to growth. He called for a business-friendly ecosystem where both individuals and companies feel encouraged to invest and settle — a signal that legacy regulatory frameworks remain a live concern for the private sector in the state.

He added that he has a personal stake in West Bengal's development and hopes to contribute to its growth story going forward.

What Comes Next

With West Bengal's political trajectory in flux and economists increasingly pointing to the East-West divide as India's most consequential regional imbalance, the pressure on policymakers — at both the state and central levels — to act on Kolkata's revival is building. Whether the political will and policy consistency Goenka called for will materialise remains the critical question.