ABSTRACT
Successive state administrations complained that the Union government’s policy of licensing and the system of quota for allocation of materials badly hampered the interests of West Bengal’s industry. The Left Front which came to power in the state in 1977 was keen on completing the incomplete task of agricultural transformation launched during the United Front Governments of late 1960s. While inept handling of the ‘save farmland’ agitation on the part of the government, was largely responsible for this development, other factors that hindered the realization of the promises of industrialization included the perennial infrastructural issues, shortage of skilled labour, administrative regulations and party overreach. As a result West Bengal’s industrial scenario remained dominated by the small scale sector which outstripped the growth of big manufacturing units ever since mid 1960s only further strengthened by certain developments under the liberalization regime.
