In yet another populist move in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections slated to be held in November, the state government decided on Friday to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees and double the scholarship for students studying of government schools.
The cabinet decision will directly impact millions of people across the state.
The cabinet meeting held on Friday under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, increased the DA from 55 to 58 per cent. This hike is expected to bring a major relief to the state government employees and pensioners.
The state cabinet also approved the proposal to double the scholarship amount given under the ‘Mukhyamantri Balak-Balika Yojana’, which will benefit all students studying in government schools in the state.
The annual scholarship amount for the students of Classes 1 to 4 has been increased from Rs 600 to 1,200, for students of Classes 5 and 6, the scholarship has been raised from Rs 1,200 to 2,400. For students of Classes 7 to 10, the amount has been increased from Rs 1,800 to 3,600.
The cabinet has approved Rs 300 crore for the scholarship scheme running since 2013. It will now provide increased annual scholarship amounts based on class level.
Transforming Bihar’s education sector has been a key focus area of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The state government has allocated a major portion of the budget to improve educational facilities. During the past few months, the government took several initiatives, including the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for Bihar Student Credit Card to help economically weaker students pursue higher education. The government has also doubled the pre-matriculation scholarship to students. The hostel grant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also been doubled.
Among other social welfare initiatives Nitish Kumar recently announced are 125 units of electricity free to domestic consumers, hike in social security pensions, implementation of a domicile policy in government jobs, formation of a Youth Commission and the plan to create 1 crore jobs and employment opportunities in the next five years.