New Delhi, July 10 (KNN) Through the financial strengthening of the MSME sector and various women-centric schemes the West Bengal Government has enabled economic gains for women. This has led to the increased role in household decision making of women, said a release from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in its official website.

The state is ahead of many other states in the areas of employment, agriculture, women’s empowerment, school education, and rural roads, according to the latest Economic Survey for FY 2018-19, said AITC release.

Overall the unemployment rate in the state is 4.6 percent whereas, rural employment stands at 3.8 percent and urban at 6.4 percent.

In terms of paddy production, the State is top in the country, having produced 15 crore tonnes. In jute production also, the state is in the top and has increased production by 16 percent over the previous financial year. Empowerment of women, especially in rural areas is a major achievement of state, said AITC release.

In population reduction, since being on course to having a population growth rate from 2011 to 2021 (when the next census would be held) of just 0.74 percent. Anything less than 1 percent is very good.

For the period of 2021 to 2031, the number is predicted to fall to 0.50 percent and for the period of 2031 to 2041, to 0.14 percent. This is another strong point for the state, as mentioned in the Economic Survey.

In school education, gross enrolment ratio, ratio of students to teachers in both schools as a whole and in classrooms, and dropout rate are among the best in the country, added the AITC release.

In the construction of rural roads, West Bengal is among some of the top states, it said.