Kolkata among India’s top GDP cities, says bizman Harsh Goenka

Kolkata: Industrialist Harsh Goenka has sought to challenge the widely held perception that Kolkata’s economy has sharply declined, pointing to GDP figures that place the city among India’s leading economic centres.

In a recent post on X, Goenka reportedly highlighted data showing Kolkata with a GDP of Rs 12.45 lakh crore, ranking it behind only Mumbai and Delhi NCR and ahead of Bengaluru and Chennai.

According to the figures he shared, Mumbai leads with a GDP of Rs 25.73 lakh crore, followed by Delhi NCR at Rs 24.37 lakh crore. Kolkata’s output of Rs 12.45 lakh crore exceeds Bengaluru’s Rs 10.9 lakh crore and Chennai’s Rs 9.5 lakh crore. The comparison, he suggested, underlines the gap between public perception and the city’s economic scale.

Kolkata continues to function as a major trade and industrial hub in eastern India. Its location along the Hooghly River and the presence of the Port of Kolkata have historically supported commerce and industry, contributing significantly to its economic base.

At the same time, the broader trajectory of West Bengal’s economy reflects long-term structural shifts. In 1960-61, the state accounted for 10.5 per cent of India’s GDP. That share has declined to about 5.6 per cent in 2024. Undivided Uttar Pradesh’s share fell from 14.4 per cent in 1960-61 to 9.3 per cent in 2020-21, edging up to 9.5 per cent in 2023-24. Maharashtra’s share rose from 12.5 per cent to 13.3 per cent over the same period.

Per capita income trends mirror this change. West Bengal’s per capita income, which stood at 127.5 per cent of the national average in 1960-61, is now about 83.7 per cent, with the latest estimate at Rs 82,781.