Kolkata

Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা, Hindi: ??????), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. The city's name was officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in January 2001. Despite the new name being phonetically closer to the Bengali version, many people and organizations still refer to it as Calcutta. In Hindi, the city is referred to as Kalkatta.

Modern Kolkata

Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India. Kolkata witnessed an economic decline from the late sixties till the late nineties. The city's economic fortunes turned the tide as the early nineties economic liberalization in India reached Kolkata's shores during late nineties. Kolkata is a multicultural, cosmopolitan city. Apart from the diversity of India, the cultures represented are that of the Europeans (Including Germans, Armenians, and others), and other Asians (Including Chinese, Sinhalese, and Tibetans).

Related Topics:
India - Europe - Germans - Armenia - Asian - Chinese - Sinhalese - Tibet

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Since 1977, a "Left Front" coalition of communist and Marxist parties has continuously ruled the state. The coalition at one time renamed the street the American Consulate is on "Ho Chi Minh Street", in protest of American foreign policy at that time. The Left Front regained control of the Municipal Corporation of Kolkata from the Trinamul Congress in the 2005 civic elections.

Related Topics:
Communist and Marxist parties - Ho Chi Minh

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Economy

Tha 'Baboo' culture and the left rule had taken its toll, and by the early 1990s, there was a gradual realisation that things needed to change. This led to wooing of foreign investment and control over the trade-union activism by the ruling Left establishement. Today, Kolkata is fast developing into a modern infotech city with various private sector setting up shop here. The landscape of the city is also fast changing with flyovers, gardens and newer commercial establishments. The Kolkata city itself has expanded into its suburbs, with Greater Kolkata stretching from Kalyani (in Nadia District) in the North to Diamond Harbour in the South (in the South 24 Parganas District).

Related Topics:
Baboo - 1990s - Nadia - South 24 Parganas

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The city's fortunes have looked up since the early nineties, coinciding with the liberalization of the Indian economy. Its economy has been amongst the fastest growing in the country. The New Metro city is characterised by popular shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops and entertainment complexes such as the Inox Multiplex, Nandan, Tantra, Barista, Sourav's Pavilion and Science City.

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Kolkata is home to many industrial units, of large Indian corporations, whose product range is varied and includes - engineering products, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates, automobiles, railway coaches, wagons.

Related Topics:
Electronics - Electric - Cables - Steel - Leather - Textile - Jewellery - Frigate - Automobile - Railway - Wagon

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Several industrial estates like Taratolla, Kalyani, Uluberia, Dankuni, Kasba, Howrah are spread throughout the urban agglomeration. A huge leather complex has come up at Bantolla. An export processing zone has been set up in Falta. Specialized setups like the country's first Toy Park, and a Gem and Jewellery Park have also been established.

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Kolkata is also becoming a major hub for the IT (Information Technology) industry. With the formation of New Town at Rajarhat and extension of Salt Lake's Sector-V, Kolkata is rapidly turning into a pro-IT town. More and more businesses are coming to Kolkata to set up their offices, including multinationals such as IBM, HSBC and ABN AMRO Bank. Leading the way in growth have been the Kolkata grown companies such as Skytech, WDC, Vision Comptech amongst numerous others.

Related Topics:
Information Technology - Rajarhat - Salt Lake

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