As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to present its first budget after coming to power in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari offered state Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta a spoon of ‘mishti doi’ (sweetened curd) after offering puja at the assembly building.
The gesture bears close resemblance with the ‘halwa’ ceremony which is in practice in Delhi, before the Union Finance Minister presents the Budget in February every year.
Dasgupta then proceeded towards the assembly to read out the budget statement.
Speaking at the House, the Finance Minister said that the government is going to recruit around one lakh people for various vacant post in the state government with 33% reservation for women candidates. This would also include 20,000 vacant posts in the State police force.
In another crucial highlight affecting lakhs of government employees, he announced that DA will be raised by 20% from October 2026. The MLA local area development funds will also be increased from Rs 70 lakh annually to Rs 1 crore.
In a step towards welfare for women commuters, Rs 550 crore will be allocated for the free bus scheme, exclusively for them.
As part of the preparations before the Budget, the state Finance Ministry took the views of people at various levels and held meetings with representatives of different teams.