'Esteemed economists contributed to decline': Sanjeev Sanyal as West Bengal's economy faces consistent slide

Noted economist Sanjeev Sanyal, whose working paper showed how West Bengal witnessed a consistent slide over decades, on Tuesday said that 'esteemed economists' not just failed to stop the degradation, but also "actively contributed to the decline". 

According to a paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Bengal has witnessed a continuous decline in its economic performance from 1960 to 2023-24. The paper, authored by EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal, said that West Bengal, which held the third-largest share of national GDP at 10.5 per cent in 1960-61, now accounted for only 5.6 per cent in 2023-24.

Not just that, West Bengal's per capita income was above the national average in 1960-61 at 127.5 per cent, but it declined to 83.7 per cent in 2023-24, falling below that of even traditionally laggard states like Rajasthan and Odisha. "West Bengal had the third-highest per capita income in 1960-61 but has been continuously declining; now lower than the national average and Odisha," the PM-EAC paper said. 

The findings evoked some reactions on social media, with one user saying that "esteemed economists" and "finance ministers" failed to stop the degradation of West Bengal. He referred to some economists like Ashok Mitra, Ashim Dasgupta, and Amit Mitra - all three were the in-charge of the state's finances in the last few decades. 

Sanyal, while replying to him, said that they not quite "failed to stop the degradation of West Bengal". "The long list of 'esteemed economists' actively contributed to the decline. Meanwhile, the dearth of Goan and Sikkimese economists stood them in good stead," he said in a post on X.  

Ashok Mitra, a Marxist politician, served as finance minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 1982 and then from 1984 to 1987. He was succeeded by Ashim Dasgupta who held the finance portfolio till 2011. In 2011, when the TMC came to power, Amit Mitra took charge and remained in the office till 2021.  

The working paper, which studied the data from 1960-61 to 2023- 24, stated that the maritime states have clearly outperformed the other states, with the exception of West Bengal. "Even the coastal state of Odisha which was traditionally a laggard state has seen improved performance in the last two decades."

The paper noted that the western and southern regions of the country have performed notably better than other parts from 1960-61 to 2023-24. Southern states have significantly outpaced others after economic liberalisation in 1991, with the five states -- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu -- collectively accounting for approximately 30 per cent of India's GDP in 2023-24.