 "Two decades of Nitish Kumar: How 'Sushasan babu' reshaped Bihar's story")
When Nitish Kumar first became the Chief Minister of Bihar in 2000, he was tasked with governing a state notorious for lawlessness and street crime. Although his initial tenure was brief, he returned to power in 2005 and has remained in office since. While Bihar has not transformed into a model state under his leadership, the reforms he introduced and his administrative style have earned him the moniker ‘Sushasan Babu’, a symbol of good governance in a state once defined by disorder.
As Bihar gears up to vote in two phase-polls in November, Nitish Kumar seeks another term as the chief minister. Here's revisiting how Bihar has fared under his leadership in the last two decades.
Why does it matter?
When Nitish Kumar took charge in 2005, Bihar was struggling with economic stagnation and a weak law and order system. The 15-year tenure of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi was frequently described by political opponents as "jungle raaj". According to The Financial Express, the state saw an average of over 120,000 cognisable crimes annually in the early 1990s. Several high-profile criminal cases, including the 1994 lynching of Dalit IAS officer G Krishnaiyyah and the 1999 Shilpi-Gautam case, damaged the state’s reputation further.
A World Bank report in the early 2000s placed Bihar at the bottom of most development metrics, noting weak industrial activity and extensive outmigration due to lack of employment opportunities. Public services, from health to education, were severely underfunded and poorly staffed.
The initial policy focus of Nitis Kumar’s Janata Dal (United)-led government centred on rebuilding roads, expanding access to education, and curbing crime. Welfare schemes such as the bicycle initiative for girls and the introduction of village-level public service delivery marked the early phase of his tenure.
Key reforms and structural changes
1. Infrastructure development: Road and bridge construction became one of the defining features of Nitish Kumar’s government. According to Free Press Journal, Bihar’s road length increased from about 14,500 km in 2005 to more than 26,000 km in 2025. The number of two-lane and four-lane highways expanded significantly, improving connectivity across districts. Between 2005 and 2015, over 66,000 km of roads and 5,400 bridges were added, followed by another 55,000 km of rural roads in the next decade.
2. Education reboot: To bring down the drop-out rates in school and promote education, the Nitish government introduced some notable schemes, including the Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojana (2006), under which the government provided free bicycles to school-going girls. According to a Times of India report, citing Bihar's then state Water Resources and Information and Public Relations Department (IRPD) Minister Sanjay Jha, bicycles became a medium of social re-engineering in Bihar. The number of girls appearing in matric exams jumped from 187,000 in 2005 to 837,000 in 2020.
The introduction of a school uniform scheme in 2007 and recruitment of contractual teachers under the Niyojit rule aimed to address teacher shortages.
The state also expanded the mid-day meal programme. On August 1, 2025, the Nitish Kumar-led government announced doubling the honorarium of mid-day meal cooks, guards, physical education, and health instructors at schools.
3. Law and order: The early 2000s saw Bihar struggling with crime and political patronage networks. Incidents such as the Shilpi-Gautam case and reports of RJD-linked workers engaging in public lawlessness underscored the collapse of governance. Kumar’s administration prioritised policing reforms and quicker trials for serious offences. According to The Financial Express, NCRB data in the mid-2000s indicated a decline in violent crime rates.
4. Welfare and governance: The Nitish government introduced a liquor ban in the state, which continues to be in place to date. In 2011, the state government introduced the Right to Public Services (RTPS) Act for documents like caste, income, and residential certificates. RTPS Bihar allows citizens to apply for critical documents such as caste, income, residence, character, Non-Creamy Layer (NCL), and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates online.
5. Bihar's economic growth: During 1999-2008, Bihar's GDP grew at an average of 5.1 per cent annually, as compared to the national average of 7.3 per cent, The Financial Express reported. The per capita income was low owing to heavy dependence on agriculture and limited industrial growth.
During 1990-1991, the per capita income in the state was approximately ₹2,660, which increased to ₹7,914 in 2004-2005. According to the Bihar Economic Survey 2024–25, tabled in the state assembly in February, Bihar’s per capita income in 2023–24 stood at ₹36,333 at constant prices and ?66,828 at current prices.
Bihar's Water Resources Department (WRD) minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, in September, said that the state's industrial sector overtook the agriculture sector, for the first time, as the major contributor to the state's gross domestic product (SGDP), the Times of India reported.
Criticism and continuing challenges
Despite improvements in infrastructure and welfare delivery, Bihar continues to trail the national average on several economic indicators. The liquor ban, though aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, has led to reports of illicit brewing and substance abuse. The Financial Express noted that cases under the NDPS Act rose from 518 in 2016 to 2,411 in 2024.
The state’s per capita income, at ₹59,637 in FY23, remains the lowest in India against the national average of about ₹1.72 lakh. Critics argue that Bihar’s industrial and employment growth has not kept pace with its infrastructural expansion.
What next for Nitish Kumar?
As Bihar enters another election cycle, Nitish Kumar’s governance record will be weighed against unmet expectations on job creation and economic diversification. His long tenure has undoubtedly changed Bihar’s governance framework, but whether it translates into continued political support remains to be seen.