Culture. Tradition. Development. Employment. Dearness Allowance. These are the keywords for the West Bengal budget for 2026-2027. State finance minister Swapan Dasgupta’s maiden budget on 22 June has given an emphatic nod to cultural nationalism, religious tourism, development and job creation. It also breaks away from the previous administration’s focus on minority affairs and fights with the Centre.
By promising to utilise central government funds and flagship schemes to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore, Dasgupta has tried to close the gap between Kolkata and New Delhi. He is opting for cooperation, not confrontation.Keeping Bengal first
As a newly elected MLA on 4 May, Swapan Dasgupta was talking about how West Bengal needs a new narrative. One that detaches itself from the immediate past and puts the state back on the highway to growth, development, job creation and cultural revival.
Exactly one month and 18 days later, as the Finance Minister of West Bengal, Dasgupta has presented the budget for the first-ever BJP government in the state, with a net allocation of Rs 4,38,775.29 crore. It has taken into consideration all the points he had touched upon on the evening of his victory. Addressing a post-budget press conference in Kolkata, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the budget is “an attempt to bring back the lost culture and dignity of West Bengal.”The state announced a 20 per cent hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees. With the total DA of 38 per cent, the government is now acting on the persistent complaint of state employees who worked under the previous Trinamool Congress government. This will come into effect from 1 October. In one of its pre-poll promises, the BJP had said it would give DA in line with the Centre’s rate. CM Adhikari asked for time to deliver the promise. “Give our government some time. We are committed to filling the 22 per cent DA gap. This time, we are providing 20 per cent DA,” Adhikari said.The new government had also promised extensive job creation. On Monday, the government announced a massive recruitment drive to fill 1,00,000 vacant government jobs across various departments, including 20,000 positions in the police force and 50,000 teaching and non-teaching posts in schools. Dasgupta said 33 per cent of the jobs would be reserved for women, wherever applicable.The government has also announced the Bharosa Karmosuchi scheme—to be launched in October—for monthly financial support to graduate job-seekers up to Rs 3,000 per month. Other unemployed young individuals will get Rs 2,000 per month. Additionally, the state has come up with a competitive exam support scheme—free coaching centres in every district and a Rs 30,000 one-time financial grant for students preparing for competitive examinations.The budget outlined a massive Rs 40,000 crore infrastructure development push with plans to acquire 1,000 to 1,500 acres of land in Kalyani. The plan is to build Kolkata’s second major commercial airport, an elevated corridor connecting Chingrighata and New Town in Kolkata, a deep-sea port at Dadanpatrabar and a four-lane bridge over the Mayurakshi river in Birbhum. It also proposed studies for metro rail projects in Durgapur, Asansol and Siliguri.
