With eye on Assembly polls, Bihar CM unveils ‘Mahila Rozgar Yojana’

In yet another populist move in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections slated to be held later this year, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced on Friday the ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana’ offering financial assistance to empower women and make them self-reliant.

As part of the scheme, one woman from every family will be given an amount of Rs10,000 as the first installment to start self-employment ventures of her choice. The transfer of funds to women’s bank accounts will begin from September 2025.

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After six months of starting a business or self-employment venture by women, an assessment will be conducted, and additional assistance up to Rs2 lakh can be provided as needed.

Haat markets (local markets) will be developed across the state, from villages to cities, for the sale of products made by women.

Making the announcement, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said: “I am confident that the implementation of this scheme will not only further strengthen the position of women but will also provide better self-employment opportunities within the state, and people will not have to leave the state for employment out of compulsion.”

Nitish Kumar has created a dedicated vote-bank by implementing several women-centric schemes including 50 per cent reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions and 35% domicile policy for female jobseekers of Bihar.

The ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana’ is expected to further consolidate his position among women voters.

The process of receiving applications from interested women will soon be started. The complete arrangement and process for this will be determined by the Rural Development Department, and the Urban Development and Housing Department will also be involved as needed for cooperation.

The announcement is seen as a counter to the opposition INDIA Alliance’s ‘Mai Behan Maan Yojana’, which promises a monthly stipend of Rs2,500 to women. The cash transfer scheme, announced by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, has been a cornerstone of the opposition’s campaign to address economic hardships faced by women from deprived sections.

Among other social welfare initiatives Nitish Kumar has announced recently 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 in the next five years.