Kolkata, July 29 (IANS) At a time when West Bengal is facing a financial crunch with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee looking up to the central government to bail it out, union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday said no region in the country should expect it would be "spoon-fed".


However, he promised all help to the state governments of the eastern region, including West Bengal.

Speaking at the launch of a management programme here, Mukherjee said: “If we want to attain sustained growth, no region can be left out. However, it is not possible to spoon-feed any region by central grants and sponsorship.”

"Surely, the central government will provide a helping hand and will also contribute with all its might to help the states in the region to overcome their difficulties,” Mukherjee said, launching the first management development programme of the Murshidabad-based Management Development Institute.

The veteran minister also said the central government was committed to providing financial aid to the north-eastern states.

“So far as state policy is concerned, we are entirely committed towards development of the northeastern region of the country. The 90 percent of the developmental grant given by the centre is grant and only 10 percent is loan as compared to the main states where grant is 30 percent and loan is 70 percent," he said.