West Bengal

Best of BS Opinion: RBI strategy, Greenspan's legacy, and Kolkata's renewal

Today's opinions explore India's forex reserve strategy, Alan Greenspan's complex legacy, West Bengal's urban renewal agenda, maize-led farm growth and China's coercive diplomacy

Kolkata's revival depends on urban reform and revival, not industry alone

A revitalised Kolkata can once again become both the heart of the state and the growth engine of eastern India

Haldia port in Bengal designated as 41st immigration checkpost in India

The Union home ministry has designated Haldia seaport in West Bengal as an immigration checkpost making it the 41st such seaport in county, according to a gazette notification on Monday. Last year in September, the Ministry designated 34 sea and river ports as immigration ports. The Ministry issued the orders using it powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (13 of 2025).

BJP's first West Bengal Budget focuses on infrastructure, industry

Swapan Dasgupta presents a Rs 4.38 trillion Budget centred on infrastructure, industrialisation, targeted welfare and closer alignment with central government initiatives

Rebel TMC faction ousts Mamata, elects MLA Arup Roy as chairperson

For the first time since the TMC was founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998, a rebel faction on Monday replaced her as the party chairperson and elected senior MLA Arup Roy to the post, while unveiling a parallel leadership structure. At a special session here, the faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee constituted a new national leadership hierarchy, directly challenging the authority of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general secretary. The rebellion within the TMC crossed a political Rubicon as dissident leaders moved beyond challenging the leadership and sought to remake the organisation itself, projecting their camp as the legitimate continuation of the party. Held at a hotel here, the 31-minute special session brought together rebel MLAs, former councillors and party functionaries from across the state. The political messaging was unmistakable. While the TMC's twin-flower symbol remained prominently displayed, portraits

118-year-old Calcutta Stock Exchange seeks to find its lost trading pulse

While presenting the Budget on Monday, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said that the 118-year-old institution was on the verge of closure due to several legal hurdles

West Bengal govt to re-examine land ceiling Act to attract investments

The West Bengal government on Monday announced that it would 're-examine' the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, with Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta describing the legislation as a major bottleneck to attracting large-scale investments in the state. Presenting the state budget in the Assembly, Dasgupta said West Bengal remains the only major state in the country where the Act's provisions continue to be in force, hampering large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects. "I hereby announce that the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, will be re-examined to unlock the potential of developable land, attract investments and fuel economic growth," the minister said. The announcement assumes significance as industry bodies and investors have long argued that restrictions on urban land holdings limit the availability of large contiguous land parcels required for industrial, commercial and infrastructure projects. The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act was

Bengal BJP govt's first budget promises 100k jobs, DA hike for employees

The BJP government in West Bengal on Monday presented its maiden budget, announcing the filling of 1 lakh government vacancies, a 20 percentage point hike in DA for its employees, and a Rs 36,000-crore outlay for the financial assistance scheme for women, Annapurna Yojana. Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said his government has inherited a debt burden of Rs 8.15 lakh crore from the previous administration, asserting that restoring fiscal discipline and public confidence in governance would be among his priorities. "Building a corruption-free administrative structure is a cornerstone of our vision. We have to restore people's trust in governance," he said. Dasgupta said DA for state government employees and DR for pensioners would be raised by 20 percentage points from October 1, taking it to 38 per cent. The move narrows the gap between the DA received by state government employees and their central government counterparts by 22 percentage points, a politically significant ...

Unlike past govts, we'll honour Syama Prasad Mookerjee's legacy: Suvendu

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced plans to preserve the legacy of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, while alleging that previous governments had sought to suppress the significance of June 20 and overlook his role in ensuring that West Bengal remained a part of India during Partition. Addressing the Paschimbanga Divas (West Bengal Day) celebration at Tarakeswar in Hooghly district in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor R N Ravi, Adhikari said June 20 marked a defining moment in Bengal's history when legislators from western Bengal voted in favour of remaining with India, paving the way for the formation of West Bengal. "There have been sustained efforts over the years to suppress the significance of June 20 and erase the historic role played by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Our government is committed to restoring this chapter of Bengal's history to its rightful place," he said. Adhikari said Paschimbanga Divas was being observed to commemorate

Bengal has broken its shackles, says PM Modi in first visit since polls

Addressing the Paschimbanga Divas celebrations in Tarakeswar, Modi said the atmosphere in the state reflected a sense of change and renewed optimism

PM greets people of Bengal on 'Paschimbanga Divas', vows support for growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted the people of West Bengal on 'Paschimbanga Divas' and said the central government will work with the state government to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. The new BJP government has decided to observe 'Paschimbanga Divas' or West Bengal Day on June 20. June 20 marks the day in 1947 when the Bengal Legislative Assembly voted in favour of the creation of a separate province that eventually became West Bengal after Partition. "Warm greetings to my sisters and brothers of West Bengal on the occasion of Paschimbanga Divas. The Central Government will work with the West Bengal Government to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of the people. I pray for the progress of West Bengal and the prosperity of its people," Modi said in a post on X. The prime minister said this day celebrates a state that has profoundly shaped India's history through its contributions to diverse areas, be it literature, music, art, spirituality, science, trade and .

Centre allocates ₹8,500 cr for Bengal under VB-G RAM G scheme: CM Adhikari

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the Centre has allocated Rs 8,500 crore to the state under the VB G-RAM G scheme. Under the Gram Sadak Yojana, allocations worth Rs 2,400 crore have been approved and Rs 1,000 crore released by the Centre, he said. Adhikari made the announcement while launching the state-wide 'Jan Kalyan Shivir' programme from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. Adhikari said 1,100 'Jan Kalyan Shivir' camps, being organised from June 15 to June 17, will help people access 54 central and state government schemes. "This is the first such outreach programme of the BJP government in West Bengal. People can visit the camps between 10 am and 5 pm to learn about various welfare schemes and submit applications for enrolment," he said. The chief minister said welfare schemes should not reach illegal immigrants and questioned extending benefits to families that do not send their children to recognised schools, or to institutions where 'Vande Mata

Rebel TMC MPs announce merger with regional party NCPI, to back NDA

The crisis in the Trinamool Congress deepened on Sunday as dissident MPs announced their merger with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a separate seating arrangement in the House, even as TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee urged Birla not to accord any recognition to the breakaway faction. Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the rebel faction would also fight in court to be recognised as the real TMC and will stake claim to its poll symbol. Speaking to reporters after their meeting with Birla, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said 20 TMC MPs had signed a representation submitted to the Speaker. "Two-thirds of TMC MPs have given a letter to the Speaker for a separate seating arrangement. We will merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA," she said. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) is a Tripura-based registered unrecognised party that does not enjoy any significant political

Former West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia quits TMC amid party rift

Speaking to the media, he confirmed that he had submitted his resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee, requesting her to accept his resignation from the primary membership of the party

ED raids TMC leader Madan Mitra's properties in alleged municipal jobs scam

The Enforcement Directorate has been carrying out raids since early Saturday at multiple properties, allegedly linked to TMC MLA Madan Mitra, in West Bengal as part of its money laundering investigation into municipality recruitment "irregularities", officials said. A total of seven premises allegedly linked to Mitra, a former minister in the previous TMC regime, are being searched, they said. Search operations were launched at Mitra's Bhabanipur residence in south Kolkata, alongside a five-floor apartment in Dakshineswar on the northern fringes of the city and a flat in Joka on Kolkata's southern outskirts, they said. Raids are also taking place at a property in Beleghata in north Kolkata and the premises of two local clubs in Bhabanipur and Santoshpur, the officials added. The leader was also being questioned by the investigators at his Dhirendranath Gupta Road residence in Bhabanipur, where he was reportedly staying with his family. Mitra represents the Kamarhati assembly seat

Messi event chaos case: WB police issues fresh notice to ex-sports minister

Police issued a fresh notice to former West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas on Saturday, asking him to appear before investigators within 48 hours for questioning in a case related to the chaos at the Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake Stadium in December. Biswas had not complied with two notices sent by the Bidhannagar police earlier to appear before it for questioning in the case. He had sought time for appearance, citing personal reasons, sources said. They said that officers served the third notice at the registered address of the former minister. This came after the Calcutta High Court granted protection to Biswas from coercive action till August 17 and directed him to appear before the probe agency on a notice by it, which is to be served at least 48 hours prior. The case stems from an FIR lodged against him by the event organiser Shatadru Dutta, accusing the former minister of black-marketing tickets, extortion, criminal intimidation and cheating in connection with the ...

Bengal police raid Abhishek Banerjee's Kolkata residence for over 4 hours

In a dramatic pre-dawn operation that triggered a political storm in West Bengal, a large contingent of police, accompanied by central forces, raided the Kalighat residence of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday in connection with a case filed in a police station in Paschim Medinipur district, a senior officer said. The development came barely two days after the West Bengal CID questioned Banerjee in connection with the alleged forged-signature case linked to the state assembly and amid a series of fresh summons issued to him by multiple investigating agencies. According to local sources, police teams, including officers from Paschim Medinipur's Salboni Police Station and Kolkata Police, arrived outside Banerjee's Patuapara residence shortly after 3 am. Central force personnel took positions outside the premises while police officers attempted to enter the house. The TMC alleged that the police teams broke open the lock and entered Banerjee's premises. The

4,000 EVMs destroyed in Bengal government building fire; probe underway

West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury on Thursday said that around 4,000 EVMs were gutted in a government building fire here, as the police launched an investigation following the registration of an FIR in connection with the incident. A massive fire broke out on Wednesday at the nine-storey building in south Kolkata's Alipore area. The building also housed the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office, apart from other departments. "Around 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. Those EVMs were used in 10 constituencies during this year's assembly elections in the state," the minister of state for fire and emergency services said. After visiting the site, Chowdhury said, "It does not appear to be a normal fire. We are examining whether there was any sabotage. It is still not clear how the fire reached the ninth and tenth floors." He said the blaze was first noticed on the second and third floors of the building. "How did it reach the seventh and eighth floors without affecting the

'BJP govt to bring Tatas back': Bengal CM attacks TMC over industry policy

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said the BJP government would bring the Tata Group back in the state, and accused the previous Left and TMC regimes of either forcibly acquiring land or merely indulging in "photo sessions" in the name of industrialisation. Addressing a press conference here, Adhikari promised to revive West Bengal's industrial fortunes and said his government would attract investment and create jobs without repeating the mistakes that had triggered the Singur and Nandigram agitations. "We will bring back the Tatas in Bengal," the chief minister asserted, referring to the conglomerate whose small-car project at Singur in Hooghly district was shifted to Gujarat in 2008 following a prolonged land acquisition dispute. In a pointed attack on the opposition TMC, Adhikari alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government spent years making claims about industrial revival without delivering tangible results. "We don't want to indulge in lies and organise pho

Fresh setback for TMC as MP Prakash Baraik resigns from party, Rajya Sabha

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from the Upper House on Thursday, the third party MP to quit this week. Baraik met Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation, sources said. In his resignation letter, the West Bengal MP wrote, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect." He also thanked the chairman, deputy chairman and officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for their cooperation during his tenure. A tribal leader from West Bengal, Baraik was serving as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Consultative Committee on Tribal Affairs. His resignation comes amid a series of exits from the Trinamool Congress. On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Upper House and subsequently announced his decision to quit the Trinamool Congress, citing differences with the party ...