FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW ‘US trade deal taking a little longer due to previous tariff’ US-Iran talks make progress, roadmap agreed for final deal within 60 days NATION Why TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) rebels chose NDA allies over the BJP? Page 9 Page 10 BRIEFLY Keir Starmer announces resignation as UK PM: London: Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party in an emotional address outside 10 Downing Street. Starmer said that throughout his time in office, every decision had been made with the intention of “putting the country I love first.” Appearing visibly emotional, he thanked his wife, Victoria, describing her as his “rock,” and said he now looked forward to focusing on being a better father to his children after leaving office. He acknowledged that he was not the best person to lead Labour into the next general election, saying he accepted that view “with good grace.” Starmer confirmed he would remain in office on a temporary basis until the Labour Party elects a new leader. SILIGURI | Tuesday, 23 June 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS | Page 5 Salah makes history as Egypt secures its first-ever World Cup win in 92 years Page 12 Bengal’s Budget bets on infra push, welfare, jobs, & fiscal repair JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY AND SAIBAL GUPTA Kolkata, 22 June N early one and half months after coming to power, West Bengal’s BJP government today unveiled its maiden budget attempting an ambitious political and economic balancing act. The Rs 4.38 lakh crore budget placed by Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta in the state Assembly contains a series of major announcements focusing on employment generation, employee benefits, welfare expansion and infrastructure development. It also signals fiscal prudence, industrial and administrative reforms, while continuing with or even in some cases expanding welfare measures, and of course a more cooperative relationship with New Delhi. The revenue deficit is projected to fall to 1.02 per cent of GSDP from 2.07 per cent, while the fiscal deficit is expected to decline to 2.91 per cent from 3.40 per cent. At the same time, the debt-to-GSDP ratio is projected to edge down to 37.98 per cent from 38.29 per cent. The budget promises to fill one lakh government vacancies including 50,000 teachers and non-teaching staff, 20,000 police personnel and 1,000 Eastern Frontier Rifles positions, with the remainder spread across various departments. One-third of all posts will be reserved for women, while 10 per cent will be earmarked for Agniveers where applicable. The flagship Annapurna Yojana will provide direct monthly transfers of Rs 3,000 to women aged between 25 and 60, at a projected annual cost of Rs 36,000 crore Among other measures aimed at wooing women is a one-off grant of Rs 50,000 for girls entering undergraduate education, expanded women’s police infrastructure and enhanced maternal support programmes. Government employees also emerge as major beneficiaries. The budget provides them an additional 20 percentage points of Dearness Allowance on top of the existing 18 per cent, taking total DA to 38 per cent. Pensioners will receive a corresponding increase in Dearness Relief. Alongside welfare spending, the budget contains a notable infrastructure push. The most ambitious proposal is a new deep-sea port at Dandanpatrabar in Purba Medinipur under a public-private partnership model. Other big infrastructure announcements include a Rs 1,200 crore bridge across the Bhagirathi linking Kalna and Santipur, support for freight connectivity projects centred on Andal and Dankuni, and plans to develop smaller cities into regional growth hubs. The government also announced metro surveys for DurgapurAsansol and Siliguri-Jalpaiguri routes. The budget further announced that liquor licences would not be issued within a one-kilometre radius of schools, hospitals and religious institutions across the state. In Kolkata, the restricted radius will be 500 metres. In healthcare, the rate for cooked rice diets supplied to patients in government hospitals has been riaised from Rs 56.64 to Rs 110, marking the first revision since 2017. A salient point of the Budget is its alignment with the Centre’s policy agenda. References to Viksit Bharat 2047, Digital India Land Records Modernisation, Mission Karmayogi, Ayushman Bharat, PMAY-G and the Purvodaya initiative appear throughout the document. Major fire in Lucknow business complex leaves 14 dead, multiple injured STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Lucknow, 22 June In a major inferno that broke out in a three-storey building in the Aliganj area of the state capital on Monday, around 14 students were killed while four were critically injured. The fire broke out at around 2 p.m. All the deceased were in the age group of 18 to 22 years and were attending coaching classes at an animation centre on the second floor. Smoke filled the building after the fire, causing a stampede among the students inside. Many students jumped from a height to save their lives, sustaining injuries. The four injured students were rushed to the Trauma Centre. Local residents first reported seeing smoke suddenly rising from the building. Nearby residents immediately informed the fire brigade and police. The fire quickly escalated, engulfing the entire premises. Five students jumped from the second floor. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was touring Aligarh on Monday, postponed the remainder of his tour and rushed back to Lucknow. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who was at the spot, confirmed that 14 students were killed and four were critically injured in the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the deaths of the students in the fire and announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.