Kolkata (Calcutta, India)

Kolkata (aka Calcutta) is the capital city of India's West Bengal state. Located on the east bank of Hooghly River, the city is state's principal commercial, educational and cultural center. Port Kolkata is the oldest operating cargo port and a major river cruise port in India. City's population is around 4,5 million (metro over 14,1 million / city-proper plus the suburbs), ranking it India's 3rd-most populous metropolitan area - after Delhi (25,7 million) and Mumbai (20,1 million). In 2010, West Bengal generated USD 150 billion GDP, which was India's 3rd highest - after the states Mumbai and Delhi.

Kolkata is the largest East-North-East financial and commercial hub of India. The city is home to Calcutta Stock Exchange (India's second largest - after the Mumbai-based NSE). Kolkata is also a major military homeport, large containership port, India's largest East-North-East financial and commercial hub. The city is served by the international Kolkata Airport (CCU, officially Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose). Regulalry scheduled daily domestic flights connect to New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Imphal, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Bagdogra, Chennai (Madras City), Port Blair (South Andaman Island).

Calcutta is famous for its revolutionary, literary and artistic heritage. As India's former capital city, Calcutta has been often called "cultural capital of India". It has many buildings decorated with Indo-Saracenic and Indo-Islamic architectural elements, well-preserved buildings from the colonial period (1505-1961). The National Library of India is country's largest public library, while Science City is country's biggest research science center.

Kolkata experienced an economic decline in the decades after WW2 (1939-1945) and India's independence (1947), mainly due to steep population increase and frequent labor strikes (supported by left-wing parties). In 1960s-1990s, several large factories were shut down and numerous smaller businesses were relocated. City's fortunes improved after India's economy was liberalized during the 1990s.

City's current economy is traditionally based on flexible manufacturing, which employs over 40% of the local labor force. Largest industries are agriculture, forestry, mining, manufacturing, services., over 1/5 are casual workers, over 1/3 of city's available labor force is unemployed, nearly 1/4 of city's population live on less than USD 0,5 per day. Latest large project investments are in real estate, infrastructure, retail shopping, hotels. City's largest employers are ITC Ltd, CESC Ltd, Exide (batteries), Emami Ltd (skin- and health care products), Eveready Industries India Ltd (Khaitan Group), Lux Industries Ltd (underwear), Rupa Company (undergarments), Berger Paints, Birla Corporation Ltd (cement plants), Britannia Industries Ltd (food-products), Philips India, PwC India (professional services), TATA Corporation (Global Beverages, Steel). Largest banks are Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank, United Bank of India, Bandhan Bank, Reserve Bank of India. The Government Mint in Kolkata is one of India's four mints (the other 3 are in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Noida).