Swapan Dasgupta and Suvendu Adhikari with the Budget 2026 document on Monday. (Photo: BJP)
Close to two months after the BJP’s win in West Bengal, ending Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule, the government today announced a host of significant measures in its first budget for the state. Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced one lakh government jobs, a 33 per cent quota for women, and a 20 per cent hike in dearness allowance for government employees.
Airport, sea port and welfare schemes: Dasgupta announced a new airport near Kolkata, a deep-sea port in Purba Medinipur, mini indoor stadiums in all assembly constituencies and an IIT and an IIM in North Bengal. Apart from these, the Budget also mentioned reforms and allocations for several welfare schemes such as Rs 36,000 crore for the Annapurna Yojana scheme, Rs 550 crore for the all-women free bus service, a proposed welfare board for gig workers and Ayushman Bharat card for migrant labourers, among others.
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About the last budget: In the interim budget presented earlier this year, the previous TMC government had projected an expenditure of Rs 4.06 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.68 lakh crore was allocated to the social sector. It had also earmarked more than Rs 42,000 crore for the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department, with a substantial amount linked to the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. The newly elected BJP government has started replacing the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme with the Annapurna Yojana, under which the beneficiaries are entitled to higher monthly monetary assistance.
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