Raniganj is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Asansol subdivision of Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

It is a rocky undulating area with laterite soil, with the Ajay on the north, the Damodar on the south and the Barakar on the west.

[6] Gram panchayats of Raniganj block/panchayat samiti are: Amrasota, Ballavpur, Egara, Jemari, Ratibati and Tirat.

[7] As per the 2011 Census of India Raniganj CD Block had a total population of 106,441, of which 23,023 were rural and 83,418 were urban.

[11] Census Towns in Raniganj CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Ratibati (4,508), Chapui (5,358), Jemari (J.K. Nagar Township) (13,179), Banshra (5,703), Belebathan (4,459), Chelad (7,471), Murgathaul (7,371), Amkula (5,445), Baktarnagar (5,112), Egara (7,623), Sahebganj (4,715), Raghunathchak (6,006) and Ballavpur (6,468).

[8] Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Raniganj CD Block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Tirat (4,224).

[12] See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate Primary Census Abstract Data

[16] Coalmines are spread across the Andal, Pandaveswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Barabani and Salanpur region, including municipal areas.

The decadal (1991–2001) change in composition of workers shows the growing pressure of population growth, as well as of migrants from adjacent Jharkhand.

It includes factory, mining, plantation, transport and office workers, those engaged in business and commerce, teachers, entertainment artistes and so on.

[19] Nimcha open cast project in Satgram Area of Eastern Coalfields has a mineable reserve of 8.70 million tonnes.

[20] Damalia open cast project in Satgram Area of Eastern Coalfields has a mineable reserve of 0.44 million tonnes.

[20] The coal-bed methane gas block of Essar Group, the largest CBM player in India, in Raniganj is close to commercial production.

[22] Although the Bargadari Act of 1950 recognised the rights of bargadars to a higher share of crops from the land that they tilled, it was not implemented fully.

In 2013-14, persons engaged in agriculture in Raniganj CD Block could be classified as follows: bargadars 15.92%, patta (document) holders 35.80%, small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 2.06%, marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 26.67% and agricultural labourers 19.55%.

[24] In 2013-14, Raniganj CD Block produced 4,016 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop, from 1,475 hectares.

[19] Narayankuri ghat, on the Damodar, was used by M/s Carr Tagore & Company for transporting coal to Kolkata by boat in the middle of the nineteenth century.

In order to capture the lucrative coal transport business, East Indian Railway laid lines up to Raniganj in 1855.