With an eye on the 2026 Assembly elections in the State, the West Bengal government on Wednesday presented a ₹3.89-lakh crore Budget for the financial year 2025-26 with a significant focus on social welfare and rural infrastructure development.
“Our government’s policies, programmes and schemes are driven fundamentally by an ethos of inclusion of all, while we bring rapid economic growth with equity — a motto of the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Keeping this vision as a guiding light… the West Bengal economy measured in terms of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) has exceeded ₹18 lakh crore,” West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said while presenting the budget in the State Assembly.
“The GSDP of the State at constant prices has increased by 6.80 per cent in 2024-25, which is higher than the growth rate of India (6.37 per cent). All the three sectors (namely agriculture, industry and service sectors) in West Bengal’s economy have contributed significantly and exhibited higher annual growth than national figures,” Bhattacharya said.
In 2024-25, the industry sector registered a growth of 7.3 per cent, the agriculture and allied sector grew at a rate of 4.2 per cent, and services sector witnessed a growth rate of 7.8 per cent.
Bhattacharya unveiled a series of infrastructure and agricultural development projects in the budget, as she allocated significant funds for rural connectivity, river erosion control and agrarian support initiatives.
The government has allocated ₹1,500 crore for the expansion and improvement of road infrastructure. It has allocated ₹38,762 crore to the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department. Around ₹500 crore was allocated for the construction of a new bridge at Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district.
The Mamata Banerjee government allocated ₹9,600 crore to the “Banglar Bari” scheme to build an additional 16 lakh homes in the state.
Bhattacharya announced that the government would increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees by four per cent from April 1, 2025.
Notably, this budget marked the last full budget of Mamata Banerjee’s third term as the Chief Minister of West Bengal as the State is set to hold the Assembly elections next year.
Industry body ICC congratulated the Finance Minister for presenting a “progressive Budget” focussed on key areas like Infrastructure creation, climate mitigation and adaptation, social empowerment, rejuvenation of the tea industry and enhancing the purchasing power of the salaried class.
“A 4 per cent DA hike announced for the State Government employees will help restore the spending power of the government employees, to protect their real income and guard against inflation. This will augment consumer demand for the State economy,” said Rajeev Singh, Director General, Indian Chamber of Commerce.
“Infrastructure creation has received a major boost with ₹500 crore budgetary allocation for the Gangasagar setu. Going forward, this will help to develop Gangasagar as a major national and international tourism hub, thereby generating substantial employment opportunities for the region,” Singh added.
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