2 October 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari released a three-year-old tigress, T138, at Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar district on 2 October 2026. The tigress was brought from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary were present. This is West Bengal's first tiger reintroduction programme. Buxa was declared a tiger reserve in 1983 but had no resident tigers for years because of habitat degradation and a reduced prey base. Studies for the reintroduction were commissioned in 2018 and the work was carried out under a Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project. The National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India were associated with the programme.
Tigress:
T138
Age:
3 years
Brought from:
Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar
Buxa declared a tiger reserve:
1983
Why it matters for exams: Tiger reserve names, reintroduction projects and the bodies that clear them are standard questions in both state and central examinations.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NTCA National Tiger Conservation Authority — The statutory body under the Union environment ministry that oversees Project Tiger and India's tiger reserves.
WII Wildlife Institute of India — A Dehradun-based research institute that advises governments on wildlife science and translocations.
Reintroduction Species reintroduction — Bringing a species back into an area where it once lived but has since disappeared.
2 October 2026
The tigress released at Buxa Tiger Reserve on 2 October 2026 was first held in an acclimatisation enclosure of 2.3 hectares and was fitted with a radio collar for tracking. Tigers had disappeared from Buxa by the late 1990s. The reintroduction proposal was cleared by a National Tiger Conservation Authority steering committee in 2016-17, and about eight years of study and habitat work followed. More than 800 chital were released to rebuild the prey base and about 380 hectares of grassland were restored. Two villages have been voluntarily relocated and one more relocation is under way, with 11 villages still in the core area. Families are offered a package of Rs 15 lakh or 8 decimals of land. Two or three more tigers are planned for release in phases, and a decade-old proposal put a viable population at at least six tigers. West Bengal's Forest Minister is Manoj Oraon.
Acclimatisation enclosure:
2.3 hectares
Chital released:
800+
Grassland restored:
380 hectares
Relocation package:
Rs 15 lakh or 8 decimals of land
Villages still in core area:
11
Why it matters for exams: Reintroduction is examined as a process, not an event: prey augmentation, grassland restoration, village relocation packages and collaring are each asked about.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Core area Core or critical tiger habitat — The inner zone of a tiger reserve kept free of human use so that breeding tigers are undisturbed.
Decimal Decimal (unit of land area) — A land measure used in eastern India equal to one hundredth of an acre.
Chital Spotted deer — A common Indian deer that is a principal prey species for tigers.
1 October 2026
West Bengal's Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department has taken up 3,081 roads for repair at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. Minister Agnimitra Paul said the work is to be completed by 10 October 2026, ahead of Durga Puja. The roads lie across municipalities, municipal corporations and development authorities in the state. Contractors will be held liable for defects for five years. The drive follows a directive from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Roads taken up:
3,081
Cost:
Rs 1,000 crore
Deadline:
10 October 2026
Defect liability:
Five years
Why it matters for exams: Questions that combine a state department's name with an outlay and a deadline are common in state civil service papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Defect liability period Defect liability period — The period after completion during which a contractor must repair faults in the work at its own cost.
Development authority Urban development authority — A statutory agency that plans and builds infrastructure for a defined urban area.
2 October 2026
The West Bengal government has enhanced the monthly remuneration of several categories of contractual employees in the school education system, with effect from 1 October 2026. The decision was taken with the concurrence of the Finance Department and the approval of the state Cabinet. The employees covered work under the Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission, the Paschim Banga Rajya Sishu Shakti Mission, the Directorate of School Education and the PM-POSHAN programme. The government described the step as strengthening financial support for contractual staff associated with the state's education system.
Effective from:
1 October 2026
Approved by:
State Cabinet, with Finance Department concurrence
Why it matters for exams: Scheme and mission names in a state's school education set-up, and the department whose concurrence a pay order needs, are both asked directly.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PM-POSHAN Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman — The centrally sponsored scheme that provides hot cooked meals to schoolchildren, formerly the Mid-Day Meal scheme.
PBSSM Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission — West Bengal's state mission that implements the centrally supported Samagra Shiksha programme for school education.
Concurrence Finance Department concurrence — The finance department's formal agreement, needed before a government order creates a new financial commitment.
1 October 2026
On 1 October 2026 the Calcutta High Court extended the interim protection from coercive action granted to Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who represents Krishnanagar, till 29 January 2027. The order was passed by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya. The matter arises from a case registered at Hogalberia police station in Nadia district, and Moitra has moved the court to have it quashed. The state told the court that the investigation is continuing and that Moitra appeared before the investigating officer on 14 August as directed. The court listed the matter for hearing on 13 January 2027. Separately, a Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice directed that cases concerning incidents of egg-pelting and other attacks on public figures be clubbed together.
Protection extended till:
29 January 2027
Next hearing:
13 January 2027
Judge:
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya
Police station:
Hogalberia, Nadia district
Why it matters for exams: The distinction between interim protection, quashing of a case and a final verdict is a standing polity and judiciary question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Interim protection Interim protection from coercive action — A temporary court order that bars arrest or similar steps while a petition is pending.
Quashing Quashing of a case — A High Court setting aside a criminal proceeding so that it cannot continue.
Division Bench Division Bench — A bench of two or more judges of a High Court, as against a single judge.
2 October 2026
Speaking at the 24th CREDAI NATCON in Kolkata, West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta said of the state's urban land ceiling law: "It is an impediment and a deterrent to development. It has to go." He also called for stronger regulation, more organised developer participation and the full implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act in West Bengal. He said Kolkata's real estate sales in the first half of 2026 had reached about 70 per cent of the previous year's full-year level, and that sales growth of over 20 per cent compared with the previous year was expected. The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1976 and was repealed by the Centre in 1999, with West Bengal the only major Indian state still enforcing it.
Event:
24th CREDAI NATCON, Kolkata
Act enacted:
1976
Repealed by the Centre:
1999
Kolkata sales, first half of 2026:
About 70% of the previous year's full-year level
Why it matters for exams: A central Act repealed in 1999 but still enforced by one state is exactly the kind of federal detail asked in polity and economy papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CREDAI Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India — The national body of private real estate developers in India.
RERA Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act — The 2016 central law that requires housing projects and agents to be registered with a state regulator.
Urban land ceiling Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act — A law that caps how much vacant urban land a person may hold and allows the state to take the surplus.
30 September 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced an allocation of Rs 1,200 crore for the Ghatal Master Plan in the current financial year. The flood control project is estimated to cost about Rs 1,500 crore in all, shared equally between the Centre and the state. It covers 11 blocks and five municipalities across Purba and Paschim Medinipur, an area of 1,659 sq km, spanning five assembly and three Lok Sabha constituencies. Excess water is to be channelled through canals and rivers into the Rupnarayan, the main drainage outlet. The plan was first drawn up in the 1970s at an estimated Rs 50 crore and had not been executed for about 50 years. The Chief Minister said work should be carried out on a war footing after Durga Puja and completed by June next year, before the monsoon begins.
Allocation this financial year:
Rs 1,200 crore
Total project cost:
About Rs 1,500 crore
Area covered:
1,659 sq km
Main drainage outlet:
Rupnarayan river
Original 1970s estimate:
Rs 50 crore
Why it matters for exams: River names, flood control plans and centre-state cost sharing are regularly combined in a single question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Master plan Flood control master plan — A single engineering plan covering drainage, embankments and channels for a whole flood-prone basin.
Block Community development block — The administrative unit below a subdivision in Indian districts, used for rural development work.
25 September 2026
West Bengal State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta said polls to seven urban civic bodies, including the Kolkata and Howrah Municipal Corporations, are proposed for 28 and 29 November 2026, with counting on 2 December 2026. He added that the proposed dates are not yet the formal poll schedule. The other civic bodies in the list are the Bally, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Dhupguri and Haldia municipalities. About 6,301 polling booths are to be set up in the poll-bound districts, and the commission has held a preparatory meeting with district magistrates on ward delimitation, seat reservation and electronic voting machines.
Proposed polling:
28 and 29 November 2026
Proposed counting:
2 December 2026
Civic bodies:
7
State Election Commissioner:
Krishna Gupta
Why it matters for exams: State Election Commissions, not the Election Commission of India, conduct municipal and panchayat polls, and that division is a standard polity question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SEC State Election Commission — The body created under Articles 243K and 243ZA to conduct panchayat and municipal elections in a state.
Delimitation Ward delimitation — Redrawing the boundaries of wards so that each has a comparable number of voters.
Background
Buxa Tiger Reserve, where a tigress was released this week, lies in Alipurduar district. Alipurduar was established on 25 June 2014 as West Bengal's twentieth district, carved out of Jalpaiguri district, and its headquarters is at Alipurduar. The district has two municipalities, Alipurduar and Falakata, and six community development blocks: Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar-I, Alipurduar-II, Falakata, Kalchini and Kumargram. It contains 64 gram panchayats and nine census towns. It is a landlocked district bounded by Jalpaiguri on the west, Assam on the east and Cooch Behar on the south, and it shares an international border with Bhutan to the north. Its rivers include the Torsa, Raidak, Kaljani, Sankosh, Jayanti, Dima, Mujnai and Gadadhar.
Formed:
25 June 2014
Carved out of:
Jalpaiguri district
Rank among districts:
West Bengal's 20th district
Blocks:
6
Gram panchayats:
64
Why it matters for exams: District formation dates, parent districts and international borders are a fixed part of state geography papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Census town Census town — A settlement that meets the census definition of urban but has no municipality of its own.
Gram panchayat Gram panchayat — The elected village-level unit of local self-government in rural India.
Background
Ghatal, where West Bengal's flood control master plan is to be executed, lies in Paschim Medinipur district. The district was founded on 1 January 2002 after the partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur. It is the second-largest district in West Bengal, covering 9,295.28 sq km. Its rural population is about 4.58 million. Its tribal share of population, 14.87 per cent, is the fourth highest in the state. The district has about 8,694 villages, the most of any district in West Bengal, of which 7,600 are populated and 1,094 uninhabited.
Founded:
1 January 2002
Area:
9,295.28 sq km
Rank by area:
Second-largest in West Bengal
Villages:
8,694 (7,600 populated, 1,094 uninhabited)
Tribal share of population:
14.87%
Why it matters for exams: The 2002 split of Midnapore into two districts, and the area and village counts that followed, are asked in state geography and administration questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Uninhabited village Uninhabited village — A revenue village recorded in the census that had no resident population on census day.