How to make the economic reforms irreversible? (Bengal series 1)

Yesterday Swapan Dasgupta, the new Finance Minister of West Bengal, presented the first budget of his newly elected government. In normal circumstances one would have expected a critical analysis of the budget provisions by the opposition and the media. To my utmost surprise the criticism from the opposition is conspicuously missing. Apparently the unraveling opposition is focusing elsewhere and doesn't have time to focus on things like budget.

One provision which has been highlighted by the media is that the budget allocation for Madarsa education has been slashed from over 5,700 crores to around 2,100 crores.

But, this budget is a very significant steps towards steering the State towards growth and development. How?

Let me, first, give the example of three states - Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana. These three states have seen multiple changes of government. Different governments have implemented different populist schemes. But in the midst of everything, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune have been steadily improving their status as major hubs for employment opportunities and have attracted a huge number of migrant workers. So have Gurugram and Noida. The companies operating from these hubs have set up their centres in many other tier2 and tier3 cities. Intermittent noises by the language warriors like Raj Thackeray (and similar noises for Kannada) have not been able to make a dent. 

One state which has successfully thwarted all attempts to join the bandwagon of liberalisation and economic growth - first through militant trade unionism of the Left and then through the culture of cut money and extortion - is West Bengal. 

I don't want to go into the details of why the Left succeeded in making inroads in West Bengal and established and anti reforms society (I will write on this subject separately). But one question has a simple answer. Why are the states and centres mentioned above immune to political adventurism? The answer is - an empowered population. How does empowerment happen? Let me try to answer.

As on date there are only four operational airports in West Bengal - Kolkata, Bagdogra, Durgapur and Cooch Behar. Only the first two are operating on regular basis and the other two have infrequent traffic. In yesterday's budget the West Bengal FM announced a major aviation infrastructure expansion, highlighted by a new second airport for the Kolkata region in Kalyani. Additionally, the state unveiled plans to develop and functionalize new civil airports in Purulia, Balurghat, and Malda under the Centre's UDAN scheme, alongside a Rs 10 crore allocation for the expansion of Cooch Behar Airport.

The other major announcement proposed establishing an IIT and an IIM in North Bengal. North Bengal, connected through the famous 'chiken neck'. Other major higher education announcements include a new Tribal University in Jhargram, the launch of the Bengal AI Mission, and three new state medical colleges.

For the first time in many years, the budget includes a dedicated ₹5,000 crore investment promotion framework to boost the manufacturing sector and attract industries. Additionally, a specific allocation of ₹1,483 crore was set aside for the combined Industry and Commerce sectors to drive structural growth, employment, and investment incentives. The budget envisages a semiconductor unit in Durgapur and defence hubs planned in Gangajalghati (Bankura) and Sainthia (Birbhum)

The underdeveloped and neglected areas of Jangal Mahal are going to have a fair share of allocation. And this is being done without diluting the populist schemes of the previous regime. Laxmi Bhandar is now Annapurna Bhandar. The central schemes like Ayushman Bharat have replaced the State's Swasthya Sathi.

Just imagine the humongous leap it is going to be. What will this achieve? Ease of doing business and ease of living going hand in hand. 

And an empowered population. How? Infrastructure development would create job opportunities and opportunities to rub shoulders with the highly skilled professionals from across the country. The positives have to outpace the negatives.

And once the trend stabilises, the empowered people would not allow the return of mafia raj, cut money and extortion. 

That will make the reforms irreversible. But the media is only focusing on one point - the budget allocation for Madrasa development has been slashed!