Suvendu Adhikari presented the first BJP government budget in June 2026. Since then, he has been giving top priority to industry and business. The steps announced by his government, both in the budget and through several recent statements, include a combination of short-term and long-term measures.
Recently, Suvendu Adhikari went to Bombay and met Mukesh Ambani and his son at their residence. They spent time together and developed a good relationship, and Mukesh Ambani has assured him that Reliance will invest in West Bengal. The message is clear: more investment, more industry and greater priority to industrialisation.
Then came Gautam Adani. Adani has also announced a major investment programme for West Bengal. On Thursday, September 24, billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani promised more than Rs. 1 lakh crore of investment in Bengal by 2035 across a wide range of sectors, many of which already form an established part of the Adani Group’s business elsewhere in the country. He said, “We expect to invest in Bengal over Rs. 1 lakh crore by 2035.”
This investment will cover sectors ranging from ports, logistics and power generation to power transmission and distribution, roads, bridges and ropeways, green cement and hyperscale data centres.
So, in several sectors, Bengal will have an Adani presence—from a deep seaport and data centres to initiatives connected with Durga Puja and Bengal’s cultural heritage. Adani has also announced a Rs. 4,000-crore, 2,000-bed Adani Arogya Mandir in New Town, with a medical college, research and healthcare facilities.
But the issue of today’s discussion is not only Adani’s investment or Reliance’s investment. The more important issue is the approach of Suvendu Adhikari as a new Chief Minister.
He has introduced several short-term measures.
- Single-window clearance: Projects above Rs. 100 crore will receive single-window clearance, with time-bound approvals and an automated system. One IAS officer will be assigned to each project, and projects of up to Rs. 500 crore are expected to receive clearance within 30 days.
- Anti-syndicate and anti-extortion approach: There will be strict action against Syndicate Raj and illegal collections to build investor confidence.
- Trade-license exemption: Projects worth Rs. 100 crore will be exempt from Zilla Parishad trade-license approvals.
- 24×7 Operations: Shops, restaurants, offices and logistics operations will be allowed to function 24×7 in Kolkata and other major cities. This will initially be a pilot project.
- MSME revival: The government wants to reopen 8,000 closed MSME factories and develop clusters and industrial parks.
- Land handover: The government has said that it will hand over land to at least 25 industries within a month.
- The Banglar Udyam Credit Card: It will provide up to Rs. 10 lakh for young people entering micro-entrepreneurship, with 50 per cent of the amount provided as a grant and the remaining 50 per cent as an interest-free loan.
But apart from these short-term measures, there are also longer-term plans that are expected to be implemented over a period of roughly one to four years, and in some cases over the next five years.
- New industrial policy and incentive framework: There is an allocation of Rs. 5,000 crore, and the new West Bengal industrial framework is expected before Puja 2026. It will include a start-up policy, a GCC policy and a cloud-kitchen policy.
- Land Reform: The government plans to revise the archaic Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976, and notify between 2,000 and 20,000 acres of industry-ready, or strike-free, industrial zones. There will also be a new land-procurement policy.
- Semiconductor unit in the Durgapur-Panagarh region: Development of premium semiconductor units across Durgapur and its outskirts.
- Defence and Steel Hubs: Defence-manufacturing hubs are being discussed in places including Gangajal Ghati in Bankura and Sainthia in Birbhum. Steel plants are proposed at Mejia, with an investment of Rs. 15,000 crore, and in Purulia, with an investment of Rs. 4,000 crore.
Then there is the start-up and technical ecosystem. The start-up policy has an allocation of Rs. 40 crore, along with a Rs. #UrbanLamdCeilingAct, #Swapan60-crore venture-capital fund. There will also be the Bengal Impact AI Mission, a GCC policy and an IT park in Siliguri spread over 50,000 square feet. There is also a CM Science and Technology Talent Attraction Fund of Rs. 50 crore.
Then comes infrastructure. A deep seaport at Tajpur is being discussed, and this appears to be a project that Adani is expected to take up. There will also be a new airport near Kolkata, multimodal parks in Dankuni and a target of one lakh government jobs in the coming months.
There is also a target of providing employment opportunities to lakhs of people through SGCs to stop brain drain and bring migrant workers back to Bengal. However, two or three things are particularly important here.
The first is the land policy.
West Bengal underwent extensive land reforms, and land holdings became highly fragmented. Therefore, if you want to bring in an industrial project, you have to make land available.
For example, if Adani is going to develop a port, land is essential. You cannot build a port merely by providing access to the sea. The government therefore has to identify a new destination for the port and make all the necessary land arrangements there.
That is why the land question becomes so important.
The second important point is that tourism is also being linked more closely with industry in an attempt to attract greater investment.
And the third is the Urban Land Ceiling Act.
The Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976, is now very old. Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta has repeatedly said that there is no longer much justification for retaining it in its present form and that it needs to be changed. Otherwise, he argues, industrial development will not be possible.
Industry has to be facilitated.
This is particularly important because discussions have taken place over a deep seaport at Dadan Patra Bar in East Midnapore and a new greenfield airport at Kalyani.
Adani is expected to participate in both projects and submit letters of intent. The Chief Minister has also informed Adani about the plan for an international airport. Adani has further held discussions regarding a thermal power project in Purulia.
Therefore, Adani is moving towards a huge investment programme in Bengal.
The biggest problem: Bengal’s financial crisis
But the main problem is the financial crisis in West Bengal.
West Bengal is a heavily debt-stressed state. The state has accumulated a large amount of debt and has limited fiscal room. Swapan Dasgupta himself knows that generating additional revenue is not easy. The question, therefore, is how the state can release itself from this debt burden.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can release money under different schemes, and financial assistance from the Centre can certainly help. But giving one particular state a special package to clear its entire debt would also raise questions about federalism.
You cannot simply give one state a separate package to wipe out all its debt without considering the federal structure. So there is a genuine financial difficulty.
In spite of that, Suvendu Adhikari is trying to overcome the problem by bringing in more investment, more industries and more private capital.
The real test, however, will be whether these announcements can be converted into actual investment, functioning industries, employment and sustained revenue for the state.
