page_title: Economy of West Bengal
section_title: Agriculture and Livestock
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of West Bengal / Agriculture and Livestock
caption_attribution_description: Paddy field with recently sown saplings, stackes of jute stickes in the background
context_page_description: The economy of West Bengal is the sixth-largest state economy in India. It is a wealthy Indian state, with the capital city of Kolkata having a net wealth of $ 290 billion and accounting for 9600 millionaires of the country. In 2018–19, its public debt stood at ₹4.0 lakh crore or 33% of GSDP. The state primarily dependent on agriculture and medium-sized industry, although services and heavy industries play an increasingly significant role in the economy of the country.
  Since independence, West Bengal was still dependent on the central government for meeting its demands for food as production remained stagnant and the Green Revolution bypassed the state. However, there has been a significant spurt in food production since the 1980s. The state is now one of the few with a surplus, producing nearly 20% of the rice and 33% of the potato yield in 2004, despite accounting for only 7.55% of the population of India. Total export from IT sector of the state is estimated to have crossed Rs. 19,000 crores in 2016-17.
context_section_description: Agriculture accounts for the largest share of the labour force. It contributed around 18.7% to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2009–10. A plurality of the state's population are peasant farmers.
caption: Freshly sown saplings of paddy; in the background are stacks of jute sticks
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