Of service to the State: Bengal should prioritise high-skill services, sidestep constraints that make manufacturing difficult

West Bengal's new budget prioritizes job creation, but the path through manufacturing faces significant hurdles like fragmented land and infrastructure challenges. Experts suggest a services-led growth strategy, leveraging the state's skilled workforce and diaspora. This approach, focusing on connectivity and supportive regulation, can build a non-farm economy, eventually making industrialization more viable by offering alternatives to land ownership.