Page 11 - West Bengal

US tariff shock to hit Bengal's leather, marine, and engineering exports

The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on India is set to deliver a major blow to West Bengal's export-driven economy, with the state's labour-intensive leather, engineering and marine sectors expecting losses ahead of the festive season, stakeholders said. The increased levies on Indian products for the country's purchases of Russian oil came into effect on Wednesday, bringing the total amount of tariff imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent. Exporters said shipments and even production are "currently on hold", amid geopolitical headwinds, intensified by the US tariffs. According to trade estimates, the move will impact at least Rs 45,000 crore worth of Indian exports, with Bengal among the "hardest-hit" states. Labour-intensive industries are under severe pressure. In marine exports, the maximum of Bengal's annual shipments may collapse," Yogesh Gupta, regional chairman (east) of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and a leading marin

TMC MLA acted as money collecting agent in WB teacher recruitment scam: ED

Arrested TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, along with his associates, acted as an agent for collecting huge sums of money from "undeserving" candidates in exchange for jobs for the post of assistant teachers in West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged on Tuesday. The legislator from the Burwan constituency in Murshidabad district was taken into custody by the federal probe agency on Monday after searches were conducted at his residence. The raids also covered the premises of his associates and an alleged middleman named Prasanna Kumar Roy. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent him to ED custody for 6 days on Monday. The probe pertains to alleged illegal appointments of Assistant Teachers (Classes IX-XII) in the schools of the West Bengal government, and this is alleged to have been done in criminal conspiracy with officials of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC). The Supreme Court, in April this year, cancelled the appointments of

PM Modi launches projects worth ₹13K cr in Bihar, ₹1,200 crore in Bengal

Prime Minister Modi launches key infrastructure projects in Bihar and West Bengal, including the Kona Expressway and new metro routes in Kolkata, while addressing political and security concerns

TMC spending welfare funds on cadre, changing Bengal demography: PM Modi

PM Modi's visit to West Bengal comes ahead of the state Assembly elections, scheduled for early next year

PM Modi to launch multiple development projects in Bihar, West Bengal today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bihar on Friday, where he will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore, officials said. During his nearly four-hour tour of Bihar, the PM will undertake whistle-stop visits to Gayaji, Patna and Begusarai districts. The trip will begin at Gayaji, where he will inaugurate projects including a 660 MW power project situated in Buxar built at a cost of Rs 6,880 crore, and also address a public rally, they said. He will also inaugurate the 1.86-km-long six-lane Aunta-Simaria Bridge project on Ganga River, constructed at a cost of over Rs 1,870 crore. It will provide direct connectivity between Mokama in Patna and Begusarai. The PM will also inaugurate the four-lane Bakhtiyarpur-Mokama section of NH-31, built at around Rs 1,900 crore, which will ease congestion, reduce travel time, and enhance passenger and freight, the officials said. He will also inaugurate the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital a

PM Modi to flag off metro services on new sections in Kolkata on Aug 22

These metro routes will connect some of Kolkata's busiest areas, bring a notable reduction in travel time, and strengthen multimodal connectivity, benefiting lakhs of daily commuters

Mamata launches 'Shramshree' scheme: ₹5K aid for returning migrants

Under the Shramshree scheme, each returning worker will receive ₹5,000 per month for a year or until they secure new employment in Bengal

ABVP protests march to WB Education dept HQ over delay in WBJEE results

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, on Monday staged a demonstration before Bikash Bhawan, the headquarters of the state Education department, in Salt Lake, protesting the delay in the publication of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) results. The WBJEE was held in April this year, but the results have not been published. Carrying placards and shouting slogans against the state government, the protesters accused the Education department of "corruption" and demanded the immediate release of the WBJEE results. The ABVP members also blamed the state Education department for the delay in admission to undergraduate courses in many higher educational institutions. Police stopped the ABVP members from marching towards Bikash Bhawan and cleared the area, detaining several protesters. "We wanted to meet Education Minister Bratya Basu. We also told the police that five of us will go and meet him in a delegation. But the police are not allo

RG Kar case: Victim's father moves HC for lawyers to visit crime scene

The father of the R G Kar hospital rape-murder victim has moved the Calcutta High Court praying for setting aside a lower court order that refused permission to his lawyers to visit the crime scene at the state-run medical institution. The petitioner claimed that he firmly believes that other persons were present along with Sanjay Roy, who has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment till the end of his natural life by the trial court for the rape and murder of the doctor, when the crime was committed on August 9 last year. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing early next week before a single bench of the high court, his counsel said. The petitioner stated that to assist the court in discovering any material lapse in investigation, it is crucial for an independent examination of the place of occurrence. He prayed that his lawyer Phiroze Edulji along with six junior advocates be allowed to visit the place of occurrence at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital for two ho

10 pilgrims killed, 35 injured as bus rams into truck in Bengal's Burdwan

Ten pilgrims from Bihar died and 35 others were injured as their bus rammed into a truck parked on the roadside in West Bengal's Burdwan town on Friday, officials said. The pilgrims, who belonged to Motihari in Bihar's East Champaran district, were returning home after visiting Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district when the accident happened on NH-19 near Phaguipur in Purba Bardhaman district, they said. Among the deceased were eight men and two women, they added. The injured persons, including six children, were admitted to the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, officials said. "There were 45 people on the luxury bus. Efforts are being made to contact their families," an official said. "The pilgrims began their journey from Motihari on August 8. They first visited Deoghar and then went to Gangasagar," he said.

SC seeks Centre's reply on PIL over detention of Bengali-speaking workers

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a PIL which alleged that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are been detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, refused to pass any interim order with regard to the detention, saying any order will have consequences especially with respect to people, who genuinely came from across the borders. "States where these migrant workers are working have the right to inquire from their state of origin about their bonafide but the problem is in the interregnum. If we pass any interim orders, then it will have consequences, especially those who have illegally come from across the border and need to be deported under the law," the bench said. It asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, to wait for sometime for the responses from the Centre and nine statesOdisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, ..

WB chief secy summoned by ECI over refusal to suspend 'tainted' officers

West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, who was summoned by the Election Commission in New Delhi to explain the state government's decision not to suspend "tainted" officers over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision, left for the national capital on Wednesday morning. The poll panel on Tuesday summoned Pant to Delhi to report in person to Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI headquarters in the national capital, by 5 pm on August 13. "He will explain the rationale behind the state government's decision," one senior bureaucrat told PTI. The move came in response to Pant's communication to the Election Commission of India on Monday, stating that suspending the identified officers and filing FIRs against them, as directed by the poll panel, would be "disproportionately harsh" and have "demoralising impact" on the officers' community in Bengal.

Making jobs in City of Joy: Is West Bengal ready to up its economic game?

From IT hubs in Kolkata to manufacturing revivals in Uttarpara and mega power projects in Salboni, Bengal is wooing corporate giants to reverse migration and fuel economic growth

Police 'assault' RG Kar victim's mother, lathicharge protesters in Bengal

The victim's mother sustained a head injury and her bangle was also broken during the clash with the state police

RG Kar case: Protestors reach Howrah's Santragachi, try to breach barricade

A section of protestors taking part in a march to the West Bengal secretariat 'Nabanna' to mark the completion of one year of the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty doctor inside the state-run RG Kar hospital reached Santragachi in Howrah district on Saturday and attempted to breach the iron wall barricades set up by the city police there. As part of the 'Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan', the protestors shouted slogans for justice for the RG Kar victim and voiced their resolve to reach the state secretariat, irrespective of the blockades put up by the police. The police can fire upon us, but we are determined to reach Nabanna, where the state government must answer why justice has not been delivered to Abhaya (RG Kar victim) even after one year, a protestor was heard saying. Amid constant alerts over loudspeakers by the police urging protestors to abide by the Calcutta High Court order to maintain law and order, the demonstrators were seen scaling the 10-ft high barricades in their attempts

Parents of RG Kar victim join night vigil as students hold torch procession

Parents of the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at R G Kar Hospital on August 9 last year joined a night-long vigil held at Shyambazar here on Friday. The vigil began after a torch procession taken out by junior doctors and general public in memory of the late medic. The torch procession, organised at the call of West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front, started from College Street near the Calcutta University main campus and culminated 5 kilometres away at Shyambazar near the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. "I know that nothing will compensate the loss of our daughter. We only demand justice for her," the father of the murdered doctor said, addressing the gathering at Shyambazar junction. The father said it is unbelievable that one man could have committed such a brutal crime and alleged that there were others who were involved in the crime and conspiracy. He accused both the state and Central governments of not doing the needful to get justice for his daughter. Stating

WBJEE 2025 result postponed again: Why it's delayed and what happens next

The WBJEE result 2025 has been postponed again. The WBJEE 2025 result is delayed in the wake of the contempt petition filed by students to the Calcutta High Court

Historian and former BS columnist Rajat Kanta Ray passes away in Kolkata

He taught in Presidency College for more than 30 years and in 2005 then governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi went to the college to attend his class

West Bengal's GST revenues rise 12% in July, Tripura leads with 41% surge

Several states posted double-digit growth in GST collections in July 2025, led by Tripura at 41 per cent. However, Mizoram, Jharkhand bucked the trend, reporting declines in revenue during the month

West Bengal records 12% growth in GST collection for July: CM Mamata

West Bengal has registered a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for July 2025, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, citing provisional figures released by the Centre. In a post on X, Banerjee said the state collected Rs 5,895 crore in GST revenue last month, up from Rs 5,257 crore in July 2024. "Glad to share that West Bengal has reported a robust 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for July 2025, recording collection of Rs 5,895 crore, compared to Rs 5,257 crore in the same month last year, according to provisional figures just released by the Government of India," she said. "Cumulative growth rate in our state's GST revenue till the month of July is 7.71 per cent. This marks a steady improvement in business and consumption in West Bengal, which is a sign of good economic health," she added. Banerjee's remarks come at a time when her government has been highlighting economic ...