How Mamata Banerjee Fared In Her 15 Year Rule

Under the TMC, Bengal has seen expansion of welfare, but not big-ticket private investment.

In 2011, Mamata Banerjee's pitch to end the Left Front's 34-year rule centred on reconstructing West Bengal.

The promise went beyond economic revival, stressing on governance 'with a human face' -- rooted in empathy, creativity and a more responsive state.

In short, it was a call for 'Poriborton', in more ways than one.

Fifteen years later, that agenda is reflected in parts -- Kolkata looks cleaner, rural connectivity has improved and welfare schemes are a central talking point.

But industrial growth remains uneven, and big-ticket private investment hesitant -- shaping the state's perception from outside.

A pro-welfare image takes shape

Banerjee rode a wave of anti-incumbency, fuelled by land agitation movements in Singur and Nandigram.

But that was the first term, points out political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury.

"Thereafter, she set about building an image firmly focused on the subaltern and the lower middle class, with a steady rollout of targeted welfare schemes that helped consolidate an electoral base -- in many ways occupying space the Left once claimed," he explained.

Numbers tell the story. The Trinamool Congress manifesto for the assembly polls puts the number of welfare schemes at around 100 while the state's Budget documents indicate that spending on the social services sector under state development schemes has risen more than 17 times to about Rs 1.21 trillion since 2011.

It's not just West Bengal -- welfare schemes are now par for the course across India. What does it reflect?

According to Abhirup Sarkar, former professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, one way to look at the phenomenon is that it is politically necessary -- West Bengal set the template and other states followed.

"But there is little doubt that the beneficiaries are largely underprivileged, and a broad section of economists argue that direct transfers are essential, with some even advocating for a universal basic income," he said.

But the big question is on tightening fiscal space -- how much room remains for capital expenditure and the incentives needed to attract industry.

Tight finances, hard choices

Bengal is only part of a wider problem now. India's Economic Survey 2025-2026 noted that revenue expenditure continues to account for the bulk of state spending, although its share declined modestly from 86 per cent in FY19 to 84 per cent in FY24.

Within revenue expenditure, the composition now increasingly tilt towards unconditional cash transfers and other committed outlays.

'As these transfers absorb a rising share of available fiscal space, the scope for expanding productive capital expenditure becomes increasingly constrained, especially in an environment of limited revenues and elevated deficits,' the Survey said.

Although West Bengal's macro indicators show improvement over the past 15 years, an expert on state finances pointed out that welfare spending is increasingly crowding out capital expenditure, leaving limited fiscal space for industry.

"With debt hovering around 38 per cent of GSDP (gross state domestic product) -- well above the 24-25 per cent seen in stronger states -- the room to manoeuvre is tight. Bengal's own tax revenue base remains modest, and relatively low non-tax revenue further constrains its ability to fund industrial development," he added.

Industry: The weak link

Little wonder, then, that last year the state government scrapped industrial incentives -- which had been granted since 1993 -- to channel resources into welfare schemes.

It's not that companies were receiving these, but they were carrying it on their books, pointed out an industry body representative.

"However, the state government's notification of The Revocation of West Bengal Incentive Schemes and Obligations in the Nature of Grants and Incentives Act effectively draws the curtain down on the matter -- and it hasn't gone down well with industry," he said.

Some firms have sought legal recourse. According to government sources, however, a new incentives scheme for labour-intensive industries may be in the works.

"The focus is likely to be on MSMEs, export-oriented units and smaller projects, rather than big-ticket investments. That is the broad approach," an industry executive said.

Big-ticket private investment has remained a pain point. The single-largest proposed industrial investment in the core sector by a private company so far has been Rs 40,000 crore by the JSW Group for a 3,200 megawatt (Mw) power project to be set up in phases.

In April 2025, JSW Energy began work on a 1,600 Mw plant at Salboni.

Large, contiguous land parcels remain a thorny issue, the industry representative pointed out.

"And while the government may be reluctant to extend incentives to large industries, in a regime of competitive federalism, such incentives are decisive factors for investors," he said.

Perhaps that explains why the state's per capita income continues to trail others. Data from the RBI show that Bengal's per capita net state domestic product (at current prices) has more than tripled from Rs 51,543 in FY12 to Rs 1,63,467 in FY25.

But it lags behind Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab, and marginally Odisha -- except the latter, all of these states were already ahead of WB in FY12.

Sarkar explained that Bengal's growth has largely been agriculture-led, where prices remain subdued.

"Even with higher output, consumption doesn't rise proportionately, and bumper crops often depress prices -- keeping value growth muted. In contrast, industry benefits from product diversity and the ability to continually create new demand," he said.

Big summits, bigger numbers

The business community concedes that the TMC government's Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) has cast the state in a positive light.

According to industry sources, investors come away from the summit with a favourable impression of WB and a sense of potential.

But they added that in a competitive landscape, companies weigh factors such as land availability, clearances, vendor ecosystems and local advantages -- elements that determine their choice.

Investment summits across India, meanwhile, are a play of tall claims and towering numbers.

And according to state government estimates, the eighth edition of the BGBS held in February 2025 generated investment proposals worth Rs 4.4 trillion.

The previous seven editions together are estimated to have drawn proposals totalling Rs 19 trillion.

However, data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) tell another story.

In 2021, 27 industrial entrepreneur memoranda (IEMs) proposed investments of Rs 5,535 crore; in 2022, 26 IEMs accounted for Rs 4,532 crore; and in 2023, 37 IEMs totalled Rs 6,486 crore.

In 2024, Bengal ranked fifth with 31 IEMs and a proposed investment of Rs 39,306 crore.

Till December 2025, investment intentions were Rs 4,199 crore.

Still, a renewed buzz is building around Sector V in Salt Lake and New Town Rajarhat in the north-eastern periphery of Kolkata.

Infosys has started its development centre on a 50-acre plot; ITC Infotech had launched its first global AI Centre of Excellence last year.

At the Bengal Silicon Valley Tech Hub in Rajarhat where 250 acres were offered at 25 per cent of the market price, about 42 companies have taken up space -- from Reliance IT Park to Adani, NTT, LTIMindtree, Nxtra, and a host of data centre firms.

TCS, which employs more than 54,000 in the state, is set to add another campus on 20 acres at the Hub.

However, resetting perceptions may require a sharper jolt -- perhaps a single, high-impact industrial project to kick-start momentum, according to industry sources.

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Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff