Bengal
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) organized a Financial Awareness Conclave – “Wealth: Inclusion, Creation, Protection & Growth” on Friday, bringing together policymakers, regulators, bankers, and financial experts.
The conclave featured a series of engaging expert roundtable discussions. The session on “Envisaging Integrated Financial Ecosystems: MSME Growth through Credit, Cash Flow & Capital”, witnessed insightful deliberations from Mr. Shams Tabrez, DGM-SME, State Bank of India, and Mr. Ujjwal Chandra, Deputy Zonal Head, Central Bank of India, on strengthening credit access and sustainable growth pathways for MSMEs
A big fight inside the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has now reached the bank. Former party treasurer Aroop Biswas has written to HDFC Bank, asking them to freeze the party’s accounts containing hundreds of crores, claiming there is a major dispute over who really controls the party.
Unearthing vital, suppressed records surrounding the legislative inception of the state, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS) hosted a high-profile seminar titled “West Bengal: Revisiting its Past” on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Commemorating Paschimbanga Diwas—the historic day nearly eight decades ago when Bengal’s lawmakers voted to sever ties with the expanding map of East Pakistan—distinguished academics, researchers, and political leaders gathered to correct decades of distorted historical narratives. Delivering a compelling video address, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, a veteran chartered accountant, meticulously detailed how the state’s creation was explicitly designed to dismantle a deep-seated conspiracy aimed at dragging the entire landmass into a theocratic state. Bose positioned Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee as the singular, far-sighted leading light who unified ideologically polarized legislators in 1947 to secure a safe homeland for Hindu Bengalis. Echoing these structural concerns, MAKAIAS Director Dr. Sarup Prasad Ghosh slammed past administrations for intentionally imposing historical amnesia on refugees, while issuing an urgent, data-driven warning regarding a sharp drop in native Bengali speakers and an active “demographic invasion” fueled by systemic illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
In a move that has reignited a fierce political and cultural debate, the West Bengal government has issued an official directive making the singing of the national song, “Vande Mataram,” mandatory during morning assemblies across all state-affiliated madrasas. Issued by the Directorate of Madrasah Education, the order extends to all government-aided, model, and recognized unaided madrasas under the Minority Affairs Department. This follows a broader standardizing mandate implemented by the Suvendu Adhikari-led government across all state-run schools. State Minister Dilip Ghosh strongly defended the decision, asserting that institutions utilizing public funds must adhere to state-mandated practices of national integration. Meanwhile, opposition parties and minority organizations have sharply criticized the mandate, labeling it an infringement on minority rights and warning of widespread legal challenges and street protests.
22nd May | West Bengal More than two months after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)…
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the administrative corridors of Kolkata, the newly sworn-in Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government has issued a sweeping “gag order,” effectively severing direct and indirect communication between state officials and the press. The directive, issued on May 19, 2026, by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, mandates a “complete prohibition” on any unauthorized interaction with media outlets.
The historic Beltala Kali Temple located on Binoy Sarkar Road in the city witnessed a huge gathering of devotees during the celebration of the 56th Falharini Kali Puja.
In a major anti-narcotics operation, police of Kaliachak Police Station seized 14,070 bottles of banned cough syrup from the Bakharpur area under Kaliachak police station limits and arrested two persons in connection with the case.
West Bengal’s new BJP administration has moved swiftly to fortify international boundaries by transferring land to the BSF for a 27-km fencing project. Coupled with a strict new “detect, delete, deport” immigration policy, the shift marks an aggressive crackdown on cross-border infiltration.
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