India’s employability landscape is no longer restricted to a handful of metropolitan cities. States across the country are building multiple centres of skilled talent, with many tier-2 and tier-3 cities rapidly emerging as key employment hubs. West Bengal, however, remains an exception. According to the India Skills Report (2014-2025), Kolkata was the only city from West Bengal to feature among India’s top ten most employable cities during the entire period.

Not once did Siliguri, Durgapur, Asansol or any other tier-2 or tier-3 city from the state make the list. In contrast, Maharashtra had seven cities in the rankings, extending well beyond Mumbai to include Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, and Akola. Tamil Nadu had five cities represented, with C oimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, and Ponneri joining Chennai. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab each had multiple cities feature in the national rankings.

Even states such as Rajasthan and Haryana, which did not rank among the top ten state s in overall employability based on the collective performance of their cities, have developed a wider network of employable urban centres than West Bengal. In contrast, Bengal continues to depend overwhelmingly on a single city. Unfortunately, even Kolkata’s own performance offers little........

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