Swapan Dasgupta Assumes Charge as Bengal Finance Minister, Focuses on Revenue Mobilisation

PTI, June 10, 2026, Kolkata: Newly appointed West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday took charge of the department and said that maximising revenue mobilisation without imposing fresh taxes would be a key challenge.

Speaking on his first day in office, Dasgupta said he had undertaken a preliminary review of the state's finances and was aware of the broad contours of the fiscal situation.

He said at least two more consultations for the state budget would continue over the coming weeks, with a pre-budget meeting scheduled in North Bengal on Thursday, followed by another in Durgapur.

One round of pre-budget consultations had already taken place a few days ago in Kolkata.

"I am trying to understand things. There are challenges ahead, and the effort will be to maximise revenue without increasing taxes," he said, without elaborating on specific policy priorities.

He said it was not necessarily important to be an economist to handle the Finance Department, and he already has a broad idea of state finances due to his current professional reasons.

The state's accumulated debt has risen steadily and is projected to exceed Rs 7.7 lakh crore in 2025-26.

Dearness allowance liabilities, implementation of pay commission recommendations and expenditure on social welfare schemes were expected to be key fiscal challenges for the government.

A veteran columnist, author and former Rajya Sabha MP, Dasgupta has been entrusted with one of the most important and sensitive portfolios in the newly formed BJP government in West Bengal.

The appointment places the Rashbehari MLA at the centre of the state's economic and fiscal policymaking at a time when the government faces the twin task of strengthening revenues and managing expenditure commitments.

Trained as a historian, Dasgupta's public career has spanned academia, journalism, political commentary and parliamentary politics.

His move to the finance department marks a new phase in a career that has largely been associated with public discourse and policymaking rather than executive administration.

Officials said the finance department would continue stakeholder consultations across regions before the presentation of the state's first budget under the BJP government.