Academy for Civil Services WBCS INTERVIEW MATERIAL Contents Part-A West Bengal at a glance…………………………………… 2 Facts File……………………………………………………… 2 State Ministers ……………………………………………… 5 Budget 2018-19…………………………………………….. 6 State Flagship Schemes…………………………………… 7 State Current Affairs……………………………………….. 12 Part-B Union Ministers…………………………………………….. 31 Centre Flagship Schemes………………………………… 32 National News……………………………………………….. 36 1 Part-A West Bengal at a Glance 1. West Bengal is the fourth most populous state in the country. It is widely considered the Melting pot of Cultures. Bordered by five different states, its capital Kolkata is often termed as the cultural capital of India. 2. Darjeeling one of the most magnificent hill stations in the world, often dubbed as the Queen of the Hills. 3. West Bengal is celebrated for having the largest mangrove forest in the world in the Sunder bans. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Sunder bans is universally acclaimed for housing globally endangered species such as the Royal Bengal Tiger. 4. After India gained independence from the British, Bengal played the most important role in emerging renaissance in the field of social, cultural, political and educational reforms. Reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were at the forefront of the freedom movement. 5. West Bengal has also been a home to world famous figures like Mother Teresa who is described as a metaphor for selfless devotion and holiness by the Vatican. Satyajit Ray, the first academy award winner in India and winner of 32 National Film awards, changed the face of cinema around the globe. Rabindranath Tagore who won the Noble prize in 1913 and displayed Bengali Literature to the world. West Bengal Fact File Country India Capital Kolkata Established 1 November, 1956 Largest Metro Kolkata Latitude 27°13'15"N to 21°25'24"N Location Latitude 85°48'20"E to 89°53'04"E Neighbouring Countries Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan 88,752Km2 Area Total (34,267 sq mi) Area Rank 14th 2 Literacy Rate: Literate (Total) 6,15,38,281 Male 3,38,18,810 Female 2,77,19,471 Literacy Rate 77.08% Male 82.67% Female 71.16% Forests: Forest: 11,879 SQ. KM. (13.38%) Forest Trees - Sundari, Pussur, Rhododendron, Camelia, Magnolia,Goran, Gewa, Keora, Kusum, Hetal, Hogla, Bamboo, Sal, Teak, Mahogany, Shirish, Arjun, Mulberry, Tall grass, Shimul, Palash, Mahua, Jarul, Gamar, Garian, Chaplash, Toon, Pine Population: Male 46,809,027 Female 44,467,088 Sex Ratio 947 Rank 4th Urban % 31.87 Rural % 68.13 Density 1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi) Growth 13.84% Highest Density Kolkata (24,306) % of total 1,01,12,599 Boys 51,87,264 Girls 49,25,335 Sex Ratio 950 3 Geography of state: The Himalayas in the North Bay of Bengal in the South Broad regions are the Himalayan Region, Teral Region, Rarh Region, Western Plateau and Highlands Ganges Delta in the South having Sundarban Mangrove Forest Coastal Area Climate 1) Dry Summer 2) Monsoon 3) Autumn 4) Winter Rainfall Average normal rainfall is 1830mm, for the State, 2486 mm in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and 1502 mm in Gangetic Region Main Agriculture Crops: Boro, Jute, Maize, Wheat, Potato, Mustard, Rice, Jute, Pulses, Sugarcane, Oil-seeds, Cardamom, Ginger, Cinchona, Joar, Maskalai, Gram, Musur, Khesari, Sugarcane,Til, Mung,Ground, Nut, Vegetables and Tea 4 State Government Governor Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Chief Minister Smt. Mamta Banerjee Departments Minister-In-Charge 1. Agriculture Dr. Asish Banerjee 2. Agricultural Marketing Sri Tapan Dasgupta 3. Animal Resources Development Sri Swapan Debnath 4. Backward Classes Welfare Sri Rajib Banerjee 5. Science and Technology and Bio-Technology Sri Bratya Basu 6. Consumer Affairs Sri Sadhan Pande 7. Co-operation Sri Arup Roy 8. Correctional Administration Sri Ujjwal Biswas 9. Disaster Management and Civil Defence Janab Javed Ahmed Khan 10. Environment Dr. Saumen Kumar Mahapatra 11. Finance Sri Amit Mitra 12. Fire and Emergency Services Sri Sujit Bose 13. Fisheries Sri Chandra Nath Sinha 14. Food and Supplies Sri Jyoti Priya Mallick 15. Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Janab Abdur Rezzak Mollah 16. Forest Sri Bratya Basu 17. Health and Family Welfare Smt. Mamata Banerjee 18. Higher Education Dr. Partha Chatterjee 19. Home and Hill Affairs Smt. Mamata Banerjee 20. Housing Smt Chandrima Bhattacharya 21. Information and Cultural Affairs Smt. Mamata Banerjee 22. Information Technology and Sri Amit Mitra Electronics & e-Governance 23. Irrigation and Waterways Sri Suvendu Adhikari 24. Judicial Sri Moloy Ghatak 25. Labour Sri Moloy Ghatak 26. Land and Land Reforms & Refugee Relief Smt. Mamata Banerjee and Rehabilitation 27. Industry Commerce & Enterprises Sri Amit Mitra 27. Law Sri Moloy Ghatak 28. Mass Education Extension and Library Services Janab Siddiquallah Chowdhury 29. Micro Small and Medium Sri Amit Mitra Enterprises and Textiles 30. Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Smt. Mamata Banerjee 31. North Bengal Development Sri Rabindranath Ghosh 32. Panchayat and Rural Development Sri Subrata Mukherjee 33. Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Partha Chatterjee 34. Pashimanchal Unnayan Affairs Sri Subrata Mukherjee 35. Personnel and Administrative Reforms Smt. Mamata Banerjee 36. Planning, Statistics & Programme Monitoring Sri Tapas Roy 37. Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources Sri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay 38. Public Health Engineering Dr. Saumen Kumar Mahapatra 39. Public Works Sri Aroop Biswas 40. School Education Dr. Partha Chatterjee 41. Self Help Group and Self Employment Sri Sadhan Pande 42. Sundarban Affairs Sri Manturam Pakhira 43. Technical Education, Training & Skill Development Sri Purnendu Basu 44. Tourism Sri Goutam Deb 5 45. Transport Sri Suvendu Adhikari 46. Tribal Development Sri Rajib Banerjee 47. Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Janab Firhad Hakim 48. Water Resources Investigation and Development Sri Suvendu Adhikari 49. Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Dr. Shashi Panja 50. Youth Services and Sports Sri Aroop Biswas West Bengal Budget 2019-20 Highlights The Finance Minister, Dr. Amit Mitra, presented the Budget for West Bengal for financial year 2019-20. Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of West Bengal for 2019-20 (at current prices) is estimated to be Rs 13, 14,529 crores. This is 14% higher than the revised estimate for 2018-19. Total expenditure for 2019-20 is estimated to be Rs 2, 37,964 crores, a 4.9% increase over the revised estimate of 2018-19. In 2018-19, as per the revised figures, the expenditure is estimated to increase by Rs11, 979 crores (5.6%) over the budgeted estimate. Total receipts (excluding borrowings) for 2019-20 are estimated to be Rs 1, 64,678 crores, an increase of 7.7percentage as compared to the revised estimate of 2018-19. In 2018-19, total receipts (excluding borrowings) are estimated to exceed the budgeted estimate by Rs 3,352 crores (2.2%). Revenue receipts for the next financial year are expected to match revenue expenditure resulting in no revenue Fiscal deficit is targeted at Rs 27,254 crores (2.07% of GSDP). Sectors such as Irrigation and Flood Control (30%), Education (15%), and Police (13%) saw the highest increase in allocations. Further, the sectors of Social Welfare and Nutrition (12%) and Transport (9%) saw the highest decline in allocations. Policy Highlights Krishak Bandhu Scheme has been announced for the benefit of 72 lakh farmers and Bhagchasis owning agriculture land. The scheme will provide an assured grant of up to Rs 5,000 for one acre of land. Further, a minimum grant of Rs 2,000 will be provided to farmers holding less than one acre of land. In the event of death of a farmer, his family will receive one-time assistance of two lakh rupees. Bangla Fasal Bima Yojana will be entirely funded by the state. Previously the central government paid 20% share of farmers‘ premium. Kanyashree Prakalpa is a conditional cash transfer scheme, which seeks to improve the status of girl child, and covers 52.5 lakh girls in the state. The income criteria for Kanyashree have been removed to include all girls between the ages of 13 to 19 from all income groups. 6 West Bengal‘s expenditure on four key sectors as a proportion of its total budget, With 26 other states (using 2018-19 Budget Estimate).1 Education: West Bengal has allocated 18.3% of its expenditure on education in 2019-20. The average expenditure allocated this higher than to education by other states (15.9%). Health: West Bengal has allocated 5.1% of its total expenditure on health, which is similar to the average expenditure of other states (5.2%). Agriculture and allied activities: The state has allocated 5.1% of its total budget towards agriculture and allied activities. This is lower than the average allocation by other states (6.4%). Rural development: West Bengal has allocated 10.1% of its expenditure on rural development. This is significantly higher than the average (6.1%) of the other states. Police: West Bengal has allocated 4.0% of its total expenditure on police, which is marginally higher than the average expenditure of other states (3.9%). Roads and bridges: West Bengal has allocated 2.3% of its total expenditure on roads and bridges, which is significantly lower than the average expenditure of other states. West Bengal Flagship schemes: Akanksha Targeted group: State Government employees. Scheme Benefits: House Building Loan to the State Government Employees the Government will provide suitable land free of cost to the Housing Department for construction of flats, which will be identified by the Land and Land Reforms Department of West Bengal. Amar-Fasal, Amar-Gola (My Crop, My Storehouse) Target group: Small and Marginal farmers Benefits: Financial assistance to marginal farmers of the State So, that they can have their own storehouses and vending carts A subsidy varying between Rs. 5,000 and Rs.