‘Bengal - nat’l model with low unemployment, high literacy, improved social indicators...’

Kolkata: Bengal has emerged as a “national model” by achieving a lower unemployment rate and higher literacy rate, and carrying out people-centric progress. According to NITI Aayog’s summary report for Bengal, the state’s annual unemployment rate in 2022-’23 was 2.2 per cent, 30 per cent below the national average of 3.2 per cent. Bengal has also scored better in several socio-economic indicators with its literacy rate registered at 76.3 pert cent, around 3.3 per cent higher than the national average, and life expectancy reaching 72.3 years, which was 2.3 years longer than the national average.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on social media said: “When governance is rooted in compassion and clarity, progress becomes inevitable. Under the visionary leadership of Smt. @MamataOfficial, Bengal is emerging as a national model, achieving lower unemployment, higher literacy, improved health outcomes, and greater gender parity. This is the promise and proof of people-centric development. #BengalShowsTheWay” Citing the National Family Health Survey-V (2019-’21), the NITI Aayog report said Bengal’s sex ratio (973 female births for every 1,000 male births) was much healthier than the national average of 889. The Gender Parity Index in higher education (ratio of girls and boys enrolled in higher education institutions for the 18-23 age group), too, has improved and is higher than the national average, the report said.

The state has improved in quality-of-life indicators as well. The NITI Aayog report said Bengal has shown an improvement in several quality-of-life indicators, too; households’ access to drinking water was marginally above the national benchmark. Bengal’s infant mortality and total fertility rate were much healthier than the national average. Infant mortality rate in Bengal was 19 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2020, lower than the national average, while fertility rate in Bengal stood at 1.6 children for every woman in 2019-’21, which was better than the respective national averages. The state has also recorded a lower school dropout rate and higher pass percentages for classes 10 and 12, as per the NITI Aayog report.