20-30% Bengal Durga Puja Economy Expansion Expected This Year

Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is expected to have a 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. The retail sector would emerge as the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs. 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government.

Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy. The remaining is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.

Industry experts suggest that since the inflation itself is high this year, as compared to 2019, the value growth will be better than volume growth. Amid the growth expectation in the "puja economy" in 2022 over 2019, its share of the state GDP may continue to be 2.4-2.5 per cent.

The budget estimates for 2022-23 show that the GDP of West Bengal is estimated at Rs. 17,13,154 crore. The share of the Durga Puja economy in the state GDP was 2.5 per cent in 2019, the British Council report stated.