The history of second largest Indian city goes back to 1690 when it was chosen by the British government as the centre for their trade settlements for which they established the British East India Company at the then Calcutta. The reason for choosing this location by the British was due its geographical location where city was protected by Hooghly River on the west, a creek on the north, and by salt lakes about two and a half miles to the east. Since then the city adopted the shape of cosmopolitan city in which people, technology and ideas join hands with socio-political culture to construct the new design of city.
Due to joint efforts of people today Kolkata is recognized as the commercial and financial of hub of east India. Huge portion of city’s economy is based on trade and industries.
The large segment of population is poor and vulnerable. These sections mostly derive their income from work of the laundering, housecleaning, sweeping, plastic salvaging, plumbing, furniture making, electrical wiring, TV repair, masonry, messaging, hawking, rickshaw pulling, hair design, music and art, tailoring, leather work, shoe making, and food selling. Thus, strengthening the informal section of economy. Their contribution to informal economy cannot be neglected, according to study conducted in 2005, it was shown that the hawkers in the city of Kolkata generated the annual turn over of Rs 8,772 crore.
The state of West Bengal has now liberalized its industrial policy. As a result of which foreign investors have shown their interests for direct investment. Kolkata has the potential for Foreign Direct investment (FDI) but the sole problem is the lack of infrastructure. The government is trying to overcome the situation by developing various industrial zones. The city’ dual economy has two features – the informal economy helps the poor to survive while the educated mass tries to step into the global economy. The multifaceted financial system of the city is rapidly changing for a rich economy in the near future.
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