East Singhbhum district has a leading position in respect of mining and other industrial activities in Jharkhand state. Jamshedpur, a leading industrial city of India, is the district headquarters.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named East Singhbhum one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 21 districts in Jharkhand currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF)
