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The new BJP government of West Bengal has presented the first full budget of the state (FY 2026-27) in the Assembly. On Monday, State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, while reading the budget speech, opened the box of announcements for the people of Bengal. In this historic budget, the biggest and much awaited relief has been given to the government employees and unemployed youth of the state, due to which new energy is being seen in the administrative and social corridors.
DA of government employees increased to 38%, there will be bumper recruitment on 1 lakh government posts
Giving a big gift to the employees, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced that the dearness allowance (DA) of the state government employees will be directly increased by 20 percent to 38 percent, which will be effective from October 1, 2026. Along with this, the government has made a big promise to fill 1 lakh new vacant government posts to connect the youth with the mainstream of employment. Special attention has been given to women empowerment in this mega employment campaign, under which 33 percent of the total jobs will be completely reserved for women.
₹36,000 crore ‘Annapurna Yojana’ for women, travel in buses will be completely free
The Suvendu Adhikari government has taken the biggest gamble so far in its first budget to make half the population i.e. women financially self-reliant. The government has allocated a record huge budget of Rs 36,000 crore for its ambitious ‘Annapurna Yojana’ to provide financial assistance to women. Apart from this, on the lines of Delhi and Punjab, now in West Bengal too, travel in government buses has been made completely free for women. Women will be able to travel in state transport buses without paying any fare and to implement it smoothly, they will be issued special ‘Pink Cards’.
Infrastructure boost: New greenfield airport and deep-sea port in Kalyani
Announcing major projects in the infrastructure and transport sector, the Finance Minister said that to reduce the increasing pressure of passengers at Kolkata Airport, a new greenfield airport will be built by earmarking 1000 acres of land in Kalyani. Also, under the ‘UDAN’ scheme of the Central Government, new airports will be constructed in Purulia, Balurghat and Malda and Cooch Behar Airport will be expanded. Additionally, a state-of-the-art integrated deep-sea port will be constructed at Dadanpatra Barh in East Medinipur. To improve the traffic system of Kolkata, Rs 900 crore has been given to the Chingrighata-New Town elevated corridor and Rs 1200 crore has been given for the construction of a new bridge on the Bhagirathi river.
Education and law and order: 50,000 teachers and 20,000 policemen will be reinstated
To improve the level of education in the state and strengthen law and order, a roadmap has been prepared in the budget for bumper recruitment of 50,000 teachers and 20,000 police personnel. There has been a big increase of Rs 5,000 per month in the honorarium of Anganwadi and ASHA workers working at the grassroots level. Apart from this, the salary of para-teachers of government schools has been increased by Rs 5,000, the salary of mid-day meal cooks by Rs 1,000 and the monthly salary of Civic Police, Home Guard and Green Police has been increased by Rs 2,000.
‘Durga Suraksha Squad’ and dedicated women police stations in every sub-division
Women safety has been given top priority in this budget. A dedicated women police station will be opened in every sub-division of the state and a special women help desk will be established within every normal police station. Additionally, to ensure the safety of women in public places and busy areas, a special ‘Durga Suraksha Squad’ consisting of women police personnel will be formed, which will continuously patrol the cities.
Gift of new IIT-IIM to North Bengal and launch of ‘Bengal AI Mission’
To balance regional development, special attention has been given to the development of North Bengal, where new IITs and IIMs will be established. North Bengal will also get a new well-equipped sports stadium. To accelerate technology and digital growth, a special ‘Bengal AI Mission’ will be started in the state. In another major change in the field of education, the daily allocation for mid-day meal for every student in schools has been increased to Rs 10, and the global organization ‘ISKCON’ will help the government in preparing and distributing this nutritious meal. Along with this, a new sports university will be built in the state and financial assistance of Rs 1 crore will be given to the clubs participating in the National Games.
₹5,000 monthly pension to journalists and honor allowance to political prisoners
Expanding the scope of social security, the government has announced a pension of Rs 5,000 per month to retired journalists of the state. At the same time, the government will provide financial assistance of Rs 10,000 every month to those who were jailed in the past due to various political movements or reasons. Apart from this, to accelerate the development works at the local level, the annual Local Area Development Fund (MLA LAD Fund) of the MLAs has been directly increased from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
‘Suhrawardy Avenue’ now named ‘Gopal Mukherjee Road’, Sukant Majumdar expressed gratitude
Responding to this populist budget, Union Minister Sukant Majumdar said in Kolkata that this budget will fully meet the expectations of the people of Bengal. This will lay a strong foundation for the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for the development of the state. Along with this, expressing happiness over the historic decision of changing the name of a road in Kolkata, Sukanta Majumdar said, “I would like to heartily thank the Chief Minister as well as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) that they have now decided to change the name of ‘Suhrawardy Avenue’ to ‘Gopal Mukherjee Road’. During the dark phase of ‘Great Calcutta Killings’ in 1946, Gopal Mukherjee lost his life. But by playing he had saved thousands of people and he should have got this honor long ago.”
