West Bengal Approves 7th Pay Commission and Annapurna Bhandar Scheme

Exam-focused facts from the 21 May 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The West Bengal government approved the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission to revise salaries, pensions, and allowances for lakhs of state government employees and retirees.
The decision was finalised during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to address long-standing demands from the state workforce.
The state cabinet proposed the Annapurna Bhandar scheme, which will be linked with beneficiaries of the existing Lakshmir Bhandar programme.
A new policy was approved to provide free travel for women in state-run buses starting from June 1.
The West Bengal government decided to discontinue all religion-based welfare assistance programmes starting from next month.