The East awakens: Why India’s next corporate growth story is unfolding now

For decades, Eastern India has laboured under the weight of a dated narrative—of missed chances, sluggish industrialisation and latent promise perpetually deferred. That perception, increasingly, is being rendered obsolete.

The region stands today at a decisive inflection point, where history, resources, and reform converge to create one of India’s most compelling corporate frontiers. This quiet resurgence was palpable at a recent roundtable on Unlocking Eastern India’s Corporate Potential, where voices from Kolkata Inc spoke with rare unanimity: the East’s moment has arrived.

The voice of Calcutta Inc. was represented by Arun Saraf, CMD of UAL industries Limited, Mahesh Keyal, MD of Mortex Group, Sanjay Goenka, CMD of Hindcon Chemicals Limited, Kunal Mukherjee, MD of Emsurg Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, and Subir Ghosh of Unirox Bikes. Aman Chirimar, CFA, the VP - Mergers & Acquisitions, Indcap Advisors and Sunil Singhi, Managing Partner - V Singhi and Associates.

Yet this is not a story of unalloyed optimism. As participants at the session—convened by Indcap Advisors and curated by Sunil Goenka of Nova Realtime Solutions—rightly cautioned, opportunity here is layered with complexity. Land acquisition, regulatory predictability, environmental stewardship and community engagement remain non-negotiable challenges. Eastern India does not reward transactional capital. It demands patient capital—investment that is anchored in partnership, sensitivity and long-term purpose.

At the heart of the region’s promise lies its formidable natural endowment. Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh together host some of the richest reserves of iron ore, bauxite, coal and critical minerals anywhere in the world.

In an era marked by geopolitical flux and a reordering of global supply chains, access to such resources is no longer merely advantageous—it is strategic. Steel, aluminium, power, electric mobility and renewable energy value chains all find their natural home here, offering corporations a rare combination of scale, security and proximity.

Equally compelling is the story of Eastern India’s human capital. The region’s youthful demography, strong technical education base and deeply ingrained work ethic together constitute a talent pool that is both cost-effective and increasingly sophisticated.

As engineering colleges, management institutes and vocational centres expand in number and quality; they are seeding a workforce attuned to advanced manufacturing, healthcare, technology services and green industries. For companies willing to invest in skills, inclusion and local leadership, the returns can be transformative.

Infrastructure, long the Achilles’ heel of the East, is steadily being recast as its enabler. Dedicated freight corridors, modernised ports along the eastern seaboard, improved highways, and revitalised rail networks are compressing distances and costs. Industrial corridors, logistics parks and smart urban clusters are beginning to redraw the investment map, making the region far more accessible and business-ready than even a decade ago.

As Samir Agarwal of Indcap Advisors aptly observed Eastern India’s transformation hinges on how intelligently its challenges are navigated. The region rewards those who engage with humility and foresight, who align commercial ambition with social and environmental responsibility. Eastern India, then, is not merely open for business; it is open for vision.

For corporate with the imagination to look beyond quarterly returns and the wisdom to engage deeply with local realities, the East offers more than growth. It offers the opportunity to participate in shaping one of India’s most consequential economic reinventions.