With West Bengal gearing up for the Assembly elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday outlined a roadmap for “Purvodaya” states, which included new cargo corridors – both rail and waterways, medical tourism status, focus on revival of the jute sector, among others, in her Budget speech. Here is the list of the gains for the state.
Sitharaman on Sunday announced a new East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor, between Dankuni in Hooghly district and Surat, the textile hub of Gujarat, “to promote environmentally sustainable movement of cargo”. For a state that has long struggled with “flight of capital,” this east-to-west corridor could prove to be an industrial anchor for West Bengal.
It would not only slash the cost and time for transport of goods, but Dankuni – the gateway to the East – is most likely to become a logistical powerhouse.
Coupled with the development of the East Coast Industrial Corridor with a major node at Durgapur, the Budget signalled a shift back towards heavy industry and manufacturing.
Sitharaman also announced to operationalise 20 new National Waterways (NW) over the next 5 years, and launched a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme for incentivising a modal shift from rail and road, to increase the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2047.
For building capacity, the Union Budget also announced the establishment of training institutes as Regional Centres of Excellence (RCoE) for skill development in the inland waterways sector.
Training centres will be set up in Kolkata and Varanasi, enabling youth across the entire waterway stretch to acquire specialised maritime and logistics skills.
Of the seven high-speed rail corridors announced by the Union Finance Minister, one was for West Bengal – Varanasi to Siliguri in north Bengal.
Connecting the “Chicken’s Neck” to the national high-speed grid corridor via Delhi and Varanasi could be a game-changer for tea, tourism, and trade in the hills and the Dooars.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said that the high-speed rail corridors were “growth connectors” and were envisioned to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems.
This comes a day after the Railways announced three new rail corridors for north Bengal to improve connectivity, mobility, and socio-economic growth in the region.
The Budget’s new National Fibre Scheme specifically targets the promotion of jute, aiming to modernise traditional clusters. For the thousands of mill workers along the Hooghly river, this is more than just economics; it’s a lifeline.
The government also plans to revive 200 legacy industrial clusters, a move where West Bengal, once the industrial heart of India, stands to be a primary beneficiary.
The Union Budget leans heavily into West Bengal’s strengths as a center for excellence.
With Kolkata designated as one of the five Regional Medical Tourism Hubs, the city’s private and public healthcare sectors are set for a major influx of international patients from Southeast Asia and Bangladesh.
“I propose to launch a Scheme to support States in establishing five Regional Medical Hubs, in partnership with the private sector. These hubs will serve as integrated healthcare complexes that combine medical, educational and research facilities. They will have AYUSH Centres, Medical Value Tourism Facilitation Centres and infrastructure for diagnostics, post-care and rehabilitation. These hubs will provide diverse job opportunities for health professionals including doctors and AHPs,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.
The upgradation of NIPER Panihati and the announcement of a Girls’ Hostel in every district with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) will boost education in the state.
Kolkata, already a research giant, will likely lead this charge.
The allocation of 4,000 electric buses for eastern states and the development of five major tourism destinations under the Purvodaya plan will modernise West Bengal’s urban and rural transit.