[7] From Kuchai, near Baripada, various Neolithic tools like hoes, chisels, pounders, mace heads, grinding stones and also pieces of pottery.

Dihar is an archaeological site of Neolithic and Early village farming culture located in the Bankura district of West Bengal.

The region was the historical centre of the Nanda, Maurya, Shunga, Gupta and Pala empires that ruled much of the Indian sub-continent at their prime.

Today, they continue to face problems of overpopulation, environmental degradation and pervasive corruption despite significant economic and social progress.

Sher Shah Suri, who became king of India after defeating Humayun, founded the city of Patna on the ruins of ancient Pataliputra.

The European traders established their trade centres in the ports of Balasore, Pipili, Palur in the Odisha Coast during the rule of the last independent Hindu king Gajapati Prataprudra Dev.

In the 19th century, Calcutta's traders and merchants traded with the rest of the British Empire, continental Europe, the United States and China.

Bihar and Odisha struggled with economic issues during the British rule and in the beginning of post independent India due to rising naxalism frequent natutal calamities such as flood and cyclone.

Prominent among them were Pataliputra, Bangarh, Tamralipta, Champapuri, Chandraketugarh, Dantapura, Gauda, Katak, Sisupalgarh, Tosali, Gaya, Jaugada, Pandua, Rajapura, Asurgarh and Vaishali.

[25] The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east—a span of 9–10 km (5.6–6.2 mi).

Characterised by 19th-century architecture and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as Jorasanko, Maniktala, Ultadanga, Shyambazar, Shobhabazar, Bagbazar, Cossipore, Sinthee etc.

[30] The Maidan is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata"[31] and accommodates sporting events and public meetings.

South Kolkata includes many posh neighbourhoods such as Bhawanipore, Alipore, Ballygunge, Kasba, Dhakuria, Santoshpur, Garia, Tollygunge, Behala etc.

According to a 2010 report prepared by the International Institute for Environment and Development, a UK-based policy research non-governmental think tank, Asansol is ranked 11th among Indian cities.

As per the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, Asansol has been listed as a Y-category city for calculation of HRA (House Rent Allowance) for public servants.

His dream of transforming the backward agricultural country into an industrially advanced nation was picked up in West Bengal by then Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy.

With the economic liberalisation policy adopted by the Government of India in the '90s, Bhubaneswar received large investments in the fields of telecommunications, IT and higher education, particularly in science and engineering.

Recent times have seen large scale retail chains such as Reliance, Vishal MegaMart, Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, Pal Heights, Indulge, New Leaf, Habib's, had opened outlets in Bhubaneswar.

Several mineral based industries have been established in many cities of Odisha and Jharkhand namely Kalinganagar, Angul, Paradeep, Talcher, Rourkela, Damanjodi, Joda, Barbil, Choudwar, Jharsuguda Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Ranchi.

Jharkhand has accorded second language status to Angika, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Ho, Kharia, Kurukh, Khortha, Kurmali, Magahi, Maithili, Mundari, Nagpuri, Odia, Santali and Urdu.

Christians are the largest minority in Odisha with 3% of the state population Durga, Krishna, Jagannath and Shiva are particularly popular Hindu deities in this region.

The region lies in the humid-subtropical zone, and experiences hot summers from March to June, the monsoon from July to October and mild winters from November to February.

Snowfall occurs in the extreme northern regions of West Bengal and Daringbadi in Odisha Bengali food has inherited a large number of influences, both foreign and pan-Indian, arising from a historical and strong trade links with many parts of the world.

One can find restaurants serving food without onion and garlic in major places like Puri and other coastal area, which is run by Brahmin owners.

The kitchen of the Jagannath temple in Puri is reputed to be the largest in the world, with a thousand cooks, working around 752 wood-burning clay hearths called chulas, to feed over 10,000 people every day.

According to another school of that, Panchali originates from the word panch, which means five in Bengali language, referring to the five elements of this genre: song, music, extempore versifying, poetic contests, and dance.

By the 11th century CE folk music of Odisha existing in the form of Triswari, Chatuhswari, and Panchaswari was modified into the classical style.

[68] The Maidan, a vast field that serves as the city's largest park, hosts several minor football and cricket clubs and coaching institutes.

[80][81] In the period 2005–2007, Sunfeast Open, a tier-III tournament on the Women's Tennis Association circuit, was held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium; it has since been discontinued.

[91][92] Athletes from Kolkata include Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy, who are former captains of the Indian national cricket team; Olympic tennis bronze medallist Leander Paes, golfer Arjun Atwal, and former footballers Sailen Manna, Chuni Goswami, P. K. Banerjee and Subrata Bhattacharya.