- The budget focuses on promoting business and connecting West Bengal with Central schemes
- A Pink Card offers women free public transport access
- Minority budget cut from Rs 5,000 crore to under Rs 3,000 crore
Promoting business, improving the situation in north Bengal and connecting West Bengal with Central schemes were the focus of the budget presented today by the state's new finance minister Swapan Dasgupta. The other key initiative in the budget is the introduction of a "Pink card" for women.
The new government has also cut down the minority budget from nearly Rs 5,000 crore to less than Rs 3,000 crore - a move Dasgupta said puts minorities on an equal footing with other citizens.
"This budget is very significant because it has attempted to change a particular way of thinking that has prevailed for the last 50 years," Dasgupta told NDTV in an exclusive interview. "We had to explain what these schemes actually are. Most people were completely unaware of them. So, we are reconnecting with the national mainstream, from which Bengal had become isolated for some time," he added.
The government, he said, is going to promote business and make it clear that it is "clearly, emphatically and unquestionably business-friendly".
"We want businesses to come here, and we are trying to improve policies and working procedures for them," he added.
This, however, is not being done at the cost of ordinary people's interests, he said. "We have abolished urban land ceiling regulations. We are undertaking land pooling, and we are introducing a policy that includes veto power for Panchayats," he added.
One of the key moves in this budget is the Pink Card launched by the government. Dasgupta said women will receive reservation in the government sector and the pink card will give them access to free public transport.
"There is also a cloud kitchen policy specifically designed for women. These are small steps, but we want women to return to the workforce. The role of women in the workplace is extremely important," he said.
About the reduction in minority budget, Dasgupta said it does not mean that the interests of minorities have been curtailed.
"Most of the schemes are available to every citizen of Bengal, and since every minority individual is also a citizen of Bengal, they are not excluded from these schemes... They will not receive benefits as Muslims or Hindus separately. They receive these benefits simply as citizens," he added.
