Any effort to turn around West Benga would have to be based on skilled job creation in industry and services | Photo Credit: ANI

It would not be far from the truth to say that the BJP’s win in West Bengal is the ‘jewel in its crown’. However, with this landmark win comes the huge challenge of reversing decades of stagnation in a State whose industrial potential and social capital is well acknowledged. When State Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta presented the budget early this week, he must have been aware of the need to address these expectations.

Any effort to turn around West Bengal, a State less backward in its social indices than its northern neighbours but distinctly poor nevertheless, would have to be based on skilled job creation in industry and services — and that is what the budget tries to do. The challenge is to acquire land without fuss in a densely populated State. A transformative budget for West Bengal would inevitably need to be three-pronged: industry and infrastructure; education; and social uplift. An effort to repair the State’s broken finances is also in evidence.

A budget size of ₹4.38 lakh crore, sharply up from the FY26 allocation of ₹3.89 lakh crore, suggests intent to leave a mark. At the same time, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 2.9 per cent of GSDP in FY27, against 3.4 per cent in FY25. The debt stock as a percentage of GSDP is expected to come down from an all-India high of 38.3 per cent to 37.9 per cent. The focus is, therefore, on beefing up the revenue side, with generous help from the Centre. A 223 per cent increase in grants-in-aid to ₹71,393 crore, from ₹22,069 crore, would provide the State government with the comfort to pursue projects with a gestation period. This amounts to over 50 per cent of the State’s own tax revenues, projected at ₹1.3 lakh crore. The State’s own revenues are also projected to rise 18 per cent over revised estimates for FY26. Yet, interest payments account for about 18 per cent of revenue receipts, as a result of which capital expenditure is budgeted to rise by just 4 per cent.

As for the infra push, the key projects penned down in the Budget include the setting up of a new airport in Kalyani, near Kolkata; the development of three more airports at Purulia, Balurghat and Malda and the expansion of Cooch Behar airport. In a break from the past, the budget promises investment incentives amounting to ₹5,000 crore. In another booster for industry, which has chosen to shift base elsewhere over the last two decades or so, the new government will ‘re-examine’ the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act. However, the plan to create new airports in smaller towns should be accompanied by feasibility studies. Initiatives to set up a semi-conductor plant in Durgapur and an IT park in Siliguri are to be welcomed. Social schemes, such as Annapoorna Yojana (₹36,000 crore) and VB-G RAM-G (₹14,000 crore) cannot be grudged, more so in straitened times. In fact, the targeting steps should not lead to exclusion of bona fide beneficiaries. This is an ambitious budget for a State that has often seen hopes being belied.

Published on June 25, 2026