Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Major reforms announced in the budget for industrialization in Bengal, apart from the single window, a bunch of proposals by Suvendu-Swapan After many years, someone finally showed the courage to take a risk to attract industry and investment in Bengal. The budget (West Bengal Budget 2026-27) presented by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's government and Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta in the state assembly on Monday can be called bold and reform-oriented. Because, the budget not only emphasized on 'Ease of Doing Business' or trade facilitation system, but also gave a message of several difficult and strict reforms to attract new investments and upgrade the industrial infrastructure to world standards.
The main steps related to industry and trade announced in the budget are highlighted below—
Major announcements have been made to make the process of large investments in the state faster and free from bureaucratic complications. From now on, for proposed investments of Rs 100 crore or more, there will be no need to take separate building plan approval, trade license or other permissions from the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti. Instead, the state government will grant and dispose of all permissions within a specified time frame under the state-level Single-Window System through inter-departmental coordination.
The Singur and Nandigram land movements were in the context of the change after the fall of the Left stronghold in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee therefore did not want to take any risks with the Urban Land Ceiling Act in the last fifteen years. As a result, investment did not turn towards Bengal. But Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari did not walk that path. Rather, his government took a historic decision in its first budget to remove one of the main obstacles in large institutional investments.
West Bengal is the only large state where the Urban Land Ceiling Policy is still in force, which was creating obstacles in large investments. The budget has announced a review of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, to harness the commercial potential of land in urban areas and attract large investments.
In his budget speech today, the Finance Minister said that to facilitate industrial growth and ensure optimal utilization of land assets, a comprehensive land bank will be created by identifying unused land lying in the hands of Public Sector Undertakings (SPSUs) and other government agencies. At the same time, all the lands allotted to industrial talukas that have remained unused for more than the contractual period will be reviewed and the government will be able to re-acquire the land by refunding the lease premium, salami and other charges without any interest. This land will be allotted to new investors through a technology-driven transparent system. Incentive packages will also be given to the private sector to set up single or multi-product based industrial parks.
Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced in the budget today an amendment to the West Bengal Shops and Establishment Act, 1963, to ensure maximum utilization of commercial infrastructure and increase employment. As a result, shops, restaurants, offices, logistics and hospitality establishments will be allowed to remain open twenty-four hours (24×7) while ensuring strong labor protection. Initially, it will be launched as a pilot project in Kolkata and major urban areas.
The government has taken a strong stand to increase investor confidence and reduce the additional cost of doing business. The Finance Minister said in his budget speech that a new law will be framed to protect legitimate businesses from syndicate charges and other illegal money collection or extortion. Through this, speedy redress and personal liability of lawbreakers will be ensured.
Start-up Policy and Fund: A new 'Start-up Policy' will be launched in the state within the next three months, under which there will be a provision of an incubation fund of Rs 40 crore and a venture capital fund of Rs 60 crore.
Talent Attraction Fund: A 'Chief Minister's Science and Technology Talent Attraction Fund' of Rs 50 crore is being created to attract world-class revolutionary technologists and build a Deep Tech start-up ecosystem in Bengal.
Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy: The state will formulate a specific GCC policy with a view to changing the policy from traditional outsourcing to high-value work.
Revival of Kolkata Stock Exchange: The state government will provide necessary support to revive the 118-year-old and defunct Kolkata Stock Exchange (CSE), so that it can easily raise capital and create new jobs in eastern India.
Listing of SPSU: The state will seek to list potential state public sector undertakings on public stock exchanges to raise capital through disinvestment and corporate valuation.
Cloud-Kitchen Policy for Women: A new 'Cloud-Kitchen Policy' will be implemented to institutionalize unpaid domestic labor and empower women as micro-entrepreneurs, with the benefits of digital skills and micro-finance.
Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said that the current regulatory process, approval and inspection system will be completely reviewed and simplified, which will reduce the compliance burden on entrepreneurs and make the state a completely investment-friendly zone.