States factsheet from the business pages of www.webindia.com

			West Bengal

Area: (per cent)                          88752
Population                                67982732
Capital                                   Calcutta
Literacy: (per cent)                      57.52
Principal languages                       Bengali
Districts                                 19
Growth Rate: (per cent)	                  24.55
Density of population: (per sq.km)        766
Per Capita State Income at 
Current Prices (Rs.) (1990-91)            5,383 
Index of Development of 
Infrastructure (1990-91)                  115
Urban Population: (per cent)              27.48

Major Minerals:
Coal and china clay, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, granite.

Major Industries:
Engineering, automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aluminium, ceramics,
jute, cotton textiles, tea, paper, glass, leather, bonemeal, bicycle, dairy
and poultry, timber processing.

Major Crops:
Rice, jute, tea, potatoes, oilseeds, betal wine, tobacco, wheat, barley and
maize.

Installed Generating Capacity (March 1995)

                        MW*     Percentage
Hydro                    72          2
Thermal               3,479         98
Nuclear                   -          -
Total                 3,550        100
* Excludes the multi-State Projects 

Infrastructure:

Energy requirement (Mn. Units) 1994-95          13,540
Energy availability (Mn. Units) 1994-95         12,708
Surplus(+)/Deficit(-)                          (-) 832
Surplus(+)/Deficit(-)%                         (-) 6.1
Number of Bank Branches(March 1993)	              4242
Railway Route Per '000 Sq.Km.of Area (1991-92)      43
Road Length Per '000 Sq.Km.of Area (1987-88)       649


Contact:

Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce Department)
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Building
Calcutta - 700 001
Tel. 033-257487, 257371
Fax 033-252 900

Courtesy: http://business.webindia.com