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Updated: Feb 10, 2020 16:05 IST

An array of sops and new welfare schemes were offered by West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra on Monday in the Trinamool Congress’ last full Budget before the crucial 2021 assembly polls.

Presenting a Rs 2, 55, 677 crore budget, marking an 18 per cent planned expenditure over last year, Mitra offered new subsidies and schemes for all sections starting from unemployed youth and backward sections to homeless tea garden workers.

Among the major announcements were Rs 500 crore allocation for social security, such as provident fund schemes, for 1.5 crore backward class families and Rs 2500 crore for a monthly old age pension of Rs 1000 for 21 lakh members of the Scheduled Castes. Mitra announced another Rs 500 crore for similar schemes for members of the Scheduled Tribes.

The Budget included Rs 100 crore towards support for new medium and small industries and Rs 500 crore towards loan and subsidies to be offered to unemployed youth for setting up projects costing up to Rs 2 lakh.

Mitra also announced Rs 500 crore for setting up permanent houses for permanent workers of tea gardens in North Bengal.

“While unemployment in the country is on the rise, Bengal has created 9.11 lakh jobs in 2019-2020,” said Mitra who ended his short budget speech by reciting a few lines from a poem written by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.