West Bengal Unveils Fiscal Policy, Projects 16-Year Low Debt Ratio

Kolkata: Bengal finance minister Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday tabled state govt’s medium-term fiscal policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement in assembly. According to estimates of state govt, total debt as a percentage of GSDP projected for 2026-27 is likely to touch the lowest in 16 years.While state’s total debt is likely to remain Rs 8 lakh crore in 2026-27, total revenue receipt of the state is expected to touch Rs 3.2 lakh crore — the highest in last 16 years. Accordingly, total debt will be a little higher than 254.5% of GSDP.On the other hand, capital expenditure of the state in 2026-27 is likely to be the highest in 16 years, at more than Rs 41,699 crore. In the fiscal policy for the ensuing year, the state intends to restore a “better balance” by increasing focus on capital creation and developmental investments that are essential for sustained economic growth.On Wednesday, speaking at an Assocham family business conclave, Dasgupta pointed out that Bengal govt is framing rules to roll out incentives aimed at attracting industrial investment.“I understand that we must make the structure and the govt incentives on a par with neighbouring states. We should have a level playing field. Both Odisha and Assam, our immediate two neighbouring states, have grown sufficiently in self-confidence while we have declined,” Dasgupta said.

While presenting the budget on Monday, Dasgupta announced that the govt would introduce a ‘West Bengal Investment Promotion Framework’ to drive economic growth, boost industrial investment and create jobs. The plan will focus on industrial development using a cluster approach along industrial corridors.Industry bodies have been urging the reinstatement of industrial incentives after the change of govt, arguing that this would restore investor confidence and provide policy certainty.

Dasgupta agreed that Bengal may need to go beyond parity to recover lost ground. “Actually, it is Bengal which needs to give extra (incentives to industry compared with Odisha and Assam) just to catch up to where we have gone behind.

”He blamed earlier administrations for de-industrialisation and poor financial management. “We have suffered a problem of woefully mismanaged public finances, which resulted in a crippling public debt.

More importantly, we suffered from the problem of a very hostile anti-business environment,” he said.Dasgupta said the new govt’s key task is to signal a major shift in public culture and economic stance. “We are pro-business and unequivocally so, emphatically so, pro-business. We want to link our economy to the national economy. I think it was that disengagement from the national economy which cost us a lot,” he said.