West Bengal

The West Bengal government on Saturday invited industrialists and business groups to invest in the state, asserting that the new government was working to create a conducive business environment through new policies and incentives. Speaking at a summit organised by a news channel, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the government would soon unveil new industrial and land policies and amendments to the land ceiling Act, along with a package of incentives for investors, though he did not give a timeline or further details. Adhikari said industrialisation would help generate employment in the state, where, he claimed, a large number of educated youths were without jobs. He also claimed that nearly one crore migrant labourers from the state were currently working outside. "This is a truly patriotic government functioning properly. We are working on the industrial policy, the industrial land policy, the Land Ceiling Act, incentives and other investor-related measures. The roadmap is .

Authority says electricity charges recovered without any markup or profit, including for HVAC and common areas, can be excluded from the value of maintenance services

West Bengal finance minister calls for respecting relative differences of eastern states but acknowledging their commonality

Speciality Restaurants founder Anjan Chatterjee talks about his entrepreneurial journey, changing dining habits, food safety and his ambition to take Bengali cuisine global

Business leaders and economists called for competitive incentives, easier land acquisition and stronger industrial ecosystems to attract investment and help MSMEs scale up

Power sector reform, he reckoned, was a "low-hanging fruit", with an "Open Access" policy under consideration to help lower electricity prices in the state

At the Business Standard's Round Table West Bengal 2026, state Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said one major corporate investment could help revive industry

WBJEE Decentralised e-counselling 2026 registration process starts at 10 am today. Candidates participating in the counselling process must enrol and fill in their choices by tomorrow

West Bengal is at a critical point in its economic journey. Business Standard Round Table West Bengal 2026 brings together policymakers, industry leaders and experts to chart a new era of growth. >

Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta will be the star attraction at the first edition of a Business Standard Roundtable in the state, Bengal Beckons, on Monday

Food regulator FSSAI has suspended licences of West Bengal-based companies, Kailash Formulation and Sanecure Water Project, for violation of laws related to hygiene and sanitation. In a social media post on Sunday, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) informed the action taken against these two companies. "Enforcement drives in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, lead to the suspension of FSSAI licenses for Kailash Formulation and Sanecure Water Project due to severe violations of hygiene, sanitation, and compliance standards," the regulator said. On Kailash Formulation, the FSSAI said that the suspension order has been issued for non-conformance to compulsory food safety regulations. "Overall cleaning, hygiene and sanitation of the premises was found to be unsatisfactory. Lack of proper hand-washing, changing and hygiene facilities, along with missing medical examination, inoculation and personal hygiene records for food handlers," the FSSAI said. Moreover, FSSAI said

The Calcutta High Court on Friday declined an urgent hearing of a plea seeking permission to hold a demonstration on September 2 over deletion of names from electoral rolls during the SIR exercise and delays in hearings of appeals before tribunals. The lawyer representing an organisation, Sangrami Ganamancha, sought leave to file the petition and requested an urgent hearing. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya declined the request, saying the matter would come up as per schedule after the petition was filed. The organisation has sought permission to hold the demonstration on September 2, claiming that more than 5,000 people would participate. The plea relates to alleged deletion of names from electoral rolls during the SIR exercise and delays in hearings on appeals before tribunals. Questioning why the petition had not been filed earlier, Justice Bhattacharyya said it was not a matter of right for a petition to be heard urgently if it was not filed in time.

White papers seek financial support, tea-area rejuvenation, factory modernisation and trade reforms to revive production, protect livelihoods and attract investment in North Bengal

Court seeks details of pending and disposed appeals, relief granted and steps to update electoral rolls, and calls for the process to be streamlined

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said the functioning of his government to bring a "transformative" change in West Bengal was guided by a four-point agenda, including an uncompromising stand on national security and nationalism. Addressing an event in Siliguri, which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said that soon after assuming charge, his administration cleared the long-pending Census process and expedited land transfer to the BSF along West Bengal's border with Bangladesh. He also stressed the need for close coordination between the state and central security agencies to tackle revenue leakage and illegal cross-border activities. The BJP government's functioning is driven by an uncompromising stand on national security and nationalism, welfare, Centre-state coordination, and ensuring that all schemes reach their intended beneficiaries, the chief minister told the gathering. "There will be no compromise on national security and nationalism under our ...

Even as new-age offices and crisscrossing flyovers reshaped the skyline, Kolkata's image changed only fleetingly

Nine people, including a four-year-old child, were killed and six injured when a fire swept through a five-storey building housing several hotels in central Kolkata on Wednesday, with several Bangladeshis among the dead, prompting the government to order a statewide fire-safety audit. Officials of the state government and the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission initially said five of the deceased were Bangladeshis, including a woman and a child. However, sources at the Bangladesh mission later said the number of Bangladeshis killed in the blaze had risen to seven, adding that an official statement would be issued on Thursday morning. The blaze at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, near the New Market area, came barely 48 hours after another hotel fire in Tarapith killed nine people, putting the safety standards of the state's hospitality sector under renewed scrutiny. Fire and Emergency Services Minister Kaushik Chowdhury said the fire brigade received the call at 2.07 am and began .

The West Bengal government is likely to come out with separate policies for land and industry to attract investments in the state, a minister said on Wednesday. The proposed industry policy will incorporate measures to boost exports, he said. "Export policy will be a part of the industry policy, but the land policy will be separate," state Industry Minister Tapas Roy told PTI on the sidelines of the BigMint India Ferrous Week 2026 conference. Roy heads a group of ministers (GoM) examining these policies. The proposed separation of the land policy from the industrial one marks a shift from the perception that industrial land issues would be addressed as part of the upcoming industry policy. Land availability has been one of the key issues discussed by the state government and industry stakeholders as Bengal seeks to attract fresh investments and expand its industrial base. The government has been examining alternative approaches to making land easily available for industry, includ

Three months into its second stint in opposition after 15 years in power, the TMC faces a question that could determine the shape of West Bengal politics for years to come: can Mamata Banerjee rebuild a party no longer united behind her, or will its electoral defeat permanently fracture Bengal's principal opposition formation. Three competing centres now shape the crisis -- the Mamata Banerjee camp, the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction and 20 Lok Sabha MPs who have moved to the NCPI and extended support to the NDA. The battle has reached the Election Commission, with rival factions staking claims to the organisation, while the parliamentary rupture has sharply reduced TMC's Lok Sabha presence. For Mamata, the immediate challenge is not to recreate the TMC but to build a party capable of functioning without government and political protection that came with 15 years in office. The crisis has moved beyond defections to a battle over the TMC's organisation, elected representatives

At least seven people were killed and several others critically injured in a fire at a hotel in West Bengal's Birbhum district early on Monday, police said. The fire erupted around 5 am on the ground floor of the four-storey hotel in the temple town of Tarapith, when most of the guests were asleep, they said. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and they brought the blaze under control. The injured were taken to the Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital. Sources in the hospital initially said that five people had died in the blaze. However, police later revised the toll to seven. Hotel officials claimed the fire was caused by a short circuit.