India, June 22 -- The BJP government in West Bengal presented its first state budget, announcing a 20 percentage point increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and pensioners, along with plans to fill one lakh vacancies across various departments.

Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said the DA and Dearness Relief (DR) hike will take effect from October 1, raising the rate to 38 per cent. The government also announced recruitment for 20,000 police personnel and 50,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in schools, with 33 per cent of the jobs reserved for women.

The budget allocated Rs 36,000 crore for the Annapurna Yojana, under which women aged 25 to 60 years will receive direct financial assistanc...