India, June 23 -- West Bengal's newly formed BJP government will presented its first full-year budget on June 22, 2026, against the backdrop of a long economic decline that the state has experienced over several decades. Once a major contributor to India's GDP-accounting for 10.5 percent in 1960-West Bengal's share had fallen to just 5.6 percent by 2024-25. Per capita income tells a similar story: from 127.5 percent of the national average in 1960 to only 79.5 percent today. Much of this slide is attributed to weak industrial policy. Older industries faded away, new investment never arrived in sufficient scale, and recurring labor unrest pushed both factories and corporate headquarters out of Kolkata toward other states.

Critics argue th...