As a manufacturing city Calcutta required the following infrastructure:

• First and foremost, a network of transport and communications to ensure a smooth flow of raw materials.

• Investments in industries to process the raw materials into commodities.

• The establishment of institutions of administration, commerce and education.

During this period Calcutta was considered to be a symbol of technological wonder. By the 1880s Bengal had been industrialized to a large extent and over twenty percent of its workforce was engaged in making and selling industrial goods. Calcutta was at the centre of this industrialization. Technologies such as printing press, steamer and motorcar were all important cultural markers of the age.