'The chief minister believes the poorest of the poor have the first right on government resources.'
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
'The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Mamata Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets.'
A day after closing at a record low of 54.50 against the dollar, the rupee on Thursday slid further to 54.60 intra-day as capital outflows continued but suspected Reserve Bank of India intervention cushioned against a steeper fall and it closed at 54.47.
The situation has came to such a pass that the state finance minister Asim Dasgupta recently had to raise the VAT rates on luxury items by one per cent to 13.5 per cent.
Sarkar, a professor of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, analyses Left Front rout in the Lok Sabha elections in May as also in the more recent by-elections against the state's economic perspective.
Economists on Tuesday are not convinced about the latest monthly unemployment data released by the Centre for Monitoring India Economy (CMIE), particularly about the statistics of the rural areas. They asserted that it is difficult to get the real picture of unemployment from the methodology used by the CMIE to get the data. The overall unemployment rate in India has increased to 7.83 per cent in April 2022 as compared to 7.60 per cent in the previous month, CMIE said in its report.
The words 'industry', 'industrial development', 'jobs', and 'employment' have been ringing with higher frequency since Mamata Banerjee stepped into her third term with landslide victory after a high-octane election last year. "Our government's next target is industrial development," the chief minister (CM) had been heard stating at different public meetings in the past few months - perhaps setting the tone for the sixth edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) slated for later this month. Investor summits by any state are about intent, big numbers, and tall claims. Yet in competitive federalism, its importance as a marketing tool is undeniable.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
'Rajan's exit will have a great impact on the economy.'
The state is now under pressure to revise the salaries of its 800,000 employees, which would add to the strain of an already debt-laden state exchequer.
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