No more money making culture in Bengal: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the ‘Annapurna Divas’ event virtually as West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, State Cabinet Minister Tapas Roy, MoS Purnima Chakraborty, MoS Malati Rava Roy and others look on in Kolkata on September 17, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (September 17, 2026) said that the culture of cutting money no longer exists in West Bengal. He made the announcement in a virtual speech after releasing the fourth installment of Annapurna Yojana to the beneficiaries in the state.

“The money is directly transferred to women’s bank accounts, without any intermediary. Now there is no minted money in West Bengal,” Mr. Modi said during the virtual address.

Kickbacks are commissions charged by local politicians to help citizens take advantage of government programs. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, including Prime Minister Modi, campaigned to stop this corruption ahead of the state assembly elections, which the party won.

Talking about the BJP government in West Bengal, Mr Modi said the government believed in “less talk and more work”.

Speaking at the event on his 76th birthday, the Prime Minister also added that no eligible woman will be denied the benefits of Annapurna Yojana in West Bengal. Mr. Modi released the fourth installment of the cash transfer scheme of ₹3,000 crore to around 1.5 million women beneficiaries in West Bengal.

“Within days of the formation of our government in Bengal, the work on Annapurna Yojana started. Today, many women are receiving financial assistance directly in their bank accounts…. Our government aims to ensure that not a single eligible woman is deprived of the benefits of Annapurna Yojana,” he said in a virtual address.

Mr Modi said the Annapurna Yojana was an important effort to boost the confidence of Bengali women, adding that he believed women in the state should have both the power to make decisions and the courage to move forward.

The Annapurna Yojana was promised by the BJP during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign. The promise was to counter the Trinamool Congress government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, where more than $2.2 million received ₹1,500 a month.

After coming to power in May 2026, the BJP government started beneficiary verification, which was criticized by the opposition as a departure from what the BJP had promised. Lakshmir Bhandar was a universal program while Annapurna Bhandar has an eligibility criterion. There have been several protests with women claiming they are being denied the benefits of the program despite being eligible.

The Prime Minister said that the people of Bengal have been deprived of the benefits of many central schemes for a long time. “The BJP is going ahead with all the suspended plans after coming to power,” Mr. Modi said, adding that more than 50,000 families would be identified and allotted pucca houses.

“We will all build a new Bengal together,” he added.

Published – 18 Sep 2026 04:07 IST