New Delhi, July 14 -- Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday informed that NITI Aayog has officially recognised the state's strong performance across key socio-economic indicators, most notably in employment.

"Pleased to share that NITI Aayog has officially recognised the state's strong performance across key socio-economic indicators-most notably in employment," Banerjee wrote on her X handle.

Her sharing of the Niti Aayog's data assumes significance as last Wednesday, Banerjee had shot an angry missive to the apex public policy think tank of the Narendra Modi government, placing on record her stern objection to Bihar being shown as Bengal on the India map in one of its official reports.

Banerjee, sharing the report, further noted that the state's annual unemployment rate for 2022-23 stood at just 2.2 per cent, which is 30 per cent lower than the national average of 3.2 per cent.

She further informed that NITI Aayog's newly-released summary report also highlights Bengal's positive standing in several other areas like literacy rate, education outcomes, life expectancy, sex ratio, infant mortality rate, total fertility rate and quality of life.

According to Banerjee, as per Niti Aayog, the literacy rate in the state is 76.3 per cent above the national average of 73 per cent (as of 2011), the drop out rates and pass percentages in classes X and XII is lower in Bengal compared to national averages.

The life expectancy in the state is 72.3 years (2020), which is higher than the national average, while the sex ratio, with 973 female births per 1,000 male births in Bengal, is significantly better than the national average of 889.

Moreover, the Infant mortality rate which stands at 19 per 1,000 live births (2020) and total fertility rate at 1.6 children per woman (2019-21) are both better than national averages.

When it comes to quality of life, the report has noted steady improvement, including higher-than-average household access to drinking water.

"These achievements reflect West Bengal's continued commitment to inclusive and sustainable development.

Congratulations to all who have contributed in making this happen. Jai Bangla!" Banerjee wrote in her X handle.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.