West Bengal budget: 100Kjobs, DA hike, doles

THe w Bengal authorities on mon proclaimed 100,000 regime jobs, doles for women, unemployed young people, journalists and students, a new greenfield airport, five new districts, and slashed the budget for minority affairs by half as it presented the first budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party government.West Bengal finance minister Swapan Dasgupta placed a ₹4,38,775.29 crore net budget for 2026-2027 at the legislative assembly, saying the state’s first BJP government “envisions a state that is prosperous yet compassionate, modern yet rooted in tradition, globally competitive yet locally inclusive.”Highlights of the budget - which chief minister Suvendu Adhikari later described as “not a full budget but only for eight months” - included a promise of 100,000 government jobs, allocation of ₹36,000 crore for Annapurna Yojna (the monthly financial assistance of ₹3000 for women), and increased pay for state bus conductors, civic police personnel, home guards, ASHA workers, forest guards, Anganwadi workers and National Volunteer Force (NVF) personnel.It also included a 20% hike in the dearness allowance (DA) for all state employees and teachers and it increased the local area development fund for legislators from ₹70 lakh to ₹1 crore, among other measures. The hiked DA, which now stands at 38%, will be effective starting October 1, 2026 and 33% of the government jobs would be reserved for women. In addition, the government would continue all social welfare schemes started by previous administrations, Dasgupta said.“Of these 100,000 vacancies, 20,000 will be for police, 50,000 for teachers/professors and non-teaching staff, 1,000 for the Eastern Frontier Rifles and the remainder from other government vacancies. Ten per cent of the vacancies will be reserved for Agniveer wherever applicable. The upper age limit for recruitment for government posts has already been relaxed by five years. This benefit will be for the next two years,” Dasgupta said.He said that Bengal was saddled with debt and central assistance will play a crucial role. “Our government has inherited a massive debt of ₹8,15,891 crore as a legacy. This is potentially a crippling debt. However, with the support of the Government of India and fiscal reforms, we will try to put it on a sustainable path,” he said.The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was enlisted to service mid-day meals in schools where the organisation has a presence.“ISKCON will be given charge of mid-day meals. You may not say Hare Krishna if you don’t want but the meal will be nutritious. I can assure you of that,” the chief minister told the media after the budget was presented.Compared to the interim budget for 2026-27 presented by the then outgoing Trinamool Congress government in February, the total expenditure of West Bengal increased by ₹32,691 crore or 8.3% in the full budget presented on Monday. All of the growth is in revenue expenditure, whose share is 79.9% compared to 78.2% in the interim budget. 73% of the increased spending compared to the interim budget is being financed by the grants-in-aid from the central government and 37% of the increased spending is financed by an expected increase in state’s own tax revenue.Welfare allowances under social protection schemes - which the budget paper called Seva Shakti - figured prominently with the finance minister saying the new government’s aim was “ to build a ‘Viksit Bangla as a vibrant part of ‘Viksit Bharat — a developed, secure, inclusive and future-ready West Bengal.”To reduce the drop-out rate among girl students in higher education, Dasgupta announced a new scheme under which those getting admission for undergraduate courses at government and government aided colleges will get a one-time support of ₹50,000 provided they are unmarried. ₹1,000 crore was allotted for this.The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, which provides financial support of ₹21,000 to pregnant and lactating mothers was also announced. Also, $550 crore was allocated for free bus rides for women as promised in the BJP’s election manifesto.The state government will form new districts at Kolkata, Bashirhat, the Sundarbans, Jangipur and Arambag, and create a new sub-division at Gopiballavpur; new municipalities will be established at Shiv Mandir, Gazole, Chanchal, Belda, Bagnan, Jaigaon, Kolaghat, Kamarpukur and Tungidighi.New airports will be set up in Purulia, Balurghat and Malda while the existing airport at Coochbehar will be expanded and the government will identify 1,000–1,500 acres near Kalyani to establish a new greenfield airport to ease pressure on Kolkata Airport.In health infrastructure, an AIIMS will be set up in North Bengal, super-specialty hospitals will be established in the Sundarbans, Purulia and Darjeeling, a cancer hospital will be built in North Bengal, and the Suri Super Specialty Hospital in Birbhum will be upgraded to a Government Medical College and Hospital.“VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)) is being implemented in the state. I propose a budget allocation of ₹14,000 crore. Creation of 125 man days will be ensured for job card holders who comply with the KYC norms,” Dasgupta said.Funds for the housing schemes for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) were suspended during the last four years of the TMC regime because of alleged irregularities in allocation and spending. This resumed on Monday.“For further expansion of PMAY-G in the current financial year, I propose a budgetary allocation of ₹13,000 crore. Affordable housing will be provided to 2.5 million new beneficiaries during this financial year,” Dasgupta said.Dasgupta announced the formation of the Tea Workers Development Board to look into poor healthcare facilities, food insecurity, delayed wages etc faced by tea garden workers. He also reduced the use of tea garden land for commercial purposes from 30% to 15%, citing the need to save the environment.Dasgupta announced the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojna (PM-AJAY), a Centrally sponsored scheme, for the socio-economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes (SC).Several schemes were also announced for the tribal belts where the BJP won most of the seats. “A comprehensive livelihood improvement scheme is going to be implemented with support from the Government of India for Jhargram district. In addition, Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan will be implemented in the tribal villages in Paschimanchal districts,” Dasgupta said.The budget for infrastructure development was marked as Nirman Shakti.“The Centre is supporting state governments for infrastructure projects through the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI). This will be implemented effectively to get more fiscal space for building infrastructure. In addition, our government will ensure compliance with all reform initiatives related to public finance, IT infrastructure, mining sector reforms, implementation of Right of Way Rules under the Telecommunication Act, 2023, digital public infrastructure for agriculture, livestock sector reforms and efficiency in financial management as envisaged in the SASCI guidelines for 2026-2027,” Dasgupta said.“This will enable our state to claim financial support of around ₹10,000 crore from GoI for taking up capital intensive projects. To boost urban development beyond metros and develop Tier-II, Tier-III cities as the future engines of growth, the City Economic Regions (CER) Scheme will be implemented to build foundational infrastructure, housing, and hospitality networks,” he added.Bengal was also brought under the Centre’s Purvodaya Scheme, a comprehensive central initiative for eastern India.“A holistic plan under the scheme will be developed for West Bengal for funding under this scheme. This will include industrial corridors, manufacturing hubs and expansion of tourism infrastructure,” he said and proposed to build a deep sea port at Dandanpatrabarh in East Midnapore district through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.Dasgupta also focused on some famous sites of Hindu pilgrimage.“Our government will endeavor to transform the Gangasagar Mela into an international spiritual and cultural festival in collaboration with the Government of India. Similarly, Jagadhatri Puja, Tarakeshwar Mela, Baruni Mela, Rash Mela, Jalpesh Mela and other similar events will be transformed into national events,” he said.