Providing access to states of Eastern India, Northeast, land-locked states of Central & Northern India, adjoining countries Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh as well as the Southeast Asian markets through ports like Kolkata and Haldia.

Kolkata’s unique strategic geographical advantages likely led Job Charnock, the British merchant representative of the British East India Company to reportedly found the city of Calcutta (former anglicized name) in 1686 after amalgamating the three large villages of Sutanuti, Gobindpur, and Kalikata along the east bank of the river Ganges.

From 1772 to 1911, Calcutta remained the capital of British India.

In 1947 at the time of India’s Independence, West Bengal was one of the most industrialized states of India.

Today, West Bengal is in the midst of an industrial renaissance and leading the industrial development of Eastern India.

With long-established leadership in steel, mining, coal, and heavy industries, eastern India is now transforming into a manufacturing hub.

During the last decade (2014-15 to 2024-2025), Manufacturing saw significant increase in GSVA (at current prices) of states of eastern India:

West Bengal contributes one-fifth of the country’s net value added in engineering, worth about $7.1 billion and exports engineering goods valued at $1.8 billion annually (Source: wbindustries.gov.in).

Odisha is not only the steel capital of India it is also its top aluminum producer with large downstream manufacturing industries. Power, Petrochemicals & Chemicals, Food Processing, Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals, Textiles & Apparel are other surging industries.

Jharkhand while leading in steel, mining, power and cement industries due to its rich mineral deposits, is also fast emerging as a new citadel for the automobile and auto components industry. It supports many ancillary and tool manufacturing industries.

Chhattisgarh with rich mineral deposits hosts India’s largest steel plant in Bhilai and key sectors include power generation, cement, aluminium, and textiles.

Amid this momentum of manufacturing growth, the Kolkata Machine Tools Show 2026 will showcase cutting-edge technologies in machine tools and a host of engineering products essential to the manufacturing process.

The exhibition will highlight modern manufacturing with automated systems, smart machines and data driven decision-making. It will showcase solutions driven by technologies like robotics, 3D printing, AI, IoT, machine learning, blockchain, augmented reality, digital twins and advanced sensors.

The tradeshow will display the research & development of industry leaders alongside the innovations and indigenization of startups and MSMEs.  It will bring together all stakeholders in eastern India’s manufacturing growth and strategic industrial planning.