Bihar

As Nitish Kumar steps aside, Bihar faces an unfinished political agenda

As Nitish Kumar steps aside after two decades, Bihar faces a political transition while grappling with persistent poverty, fiscal stress and large-scale youth migration

Nitish Kumar's son Nishant joins JD(U) amid buzz over deputy CM role

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar joined the JD(U) on Sunday and said he would work to strengthen the party's organisation. Nishant, an engineering graduate who is in his 40s, was inducted into the party at its headquarters here in the presence of top leaders, including Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and JD(U)'s national working president Sanjay Jha. After joining the party, Nishant said, "My father decided to go to the Rajya Sabha. It was his personal decision. We all respect it. We will keep working under his guidance. I will work to strengthen the organisation." Nishant claimed his father, as the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, did a lot for the state in the last twenty years. People of the state will never forget the CM's contribution to the state's development, he said. "I thank everyone. I will honour the trust you all have placed in me. The country, our state and I are proud of what my father has done in the last 20 years. I will take

'Will work to strengthen party': Nitish Kumar's son Nishant joins JD(U)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar joined the JD(U) on Sunday and said he will work to strengthen the party's organisation. Nishant, an engineering graduate who is in his 40s, was inducted into the party at its headquarters here in the presence of top leaders, including Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and JD(U)'s national working president Sanjay Jha. After joining the party, Nishant said, "My father decided to go to Rajya Sabha, it was his personal decision. We all respect it. We will keep working under his guidance. I will work to strengthen the organisation". Nishant claimed his father, as the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, did a lot for the state in the last twenty years. "People of the state will never forget his (Nitish) contribution to the state's development," he said. Nishant received a rousing reception at the JD(U) office on his arrival. Party functionaries gathered outside the office and were seen waving party flags and beating .

Nitish's son Nishant to join JD(U) today, buzz grows over deputy CM role

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar will formally join the JD(U) on Sunday, marking a generational shift in party leadership, sources said. Nishant met party MLAs and MLCs at the residence of JD(U)'s working national president Sanjay Jha here on Friday and discussed his future strategies at length. Senior JD(U) leader Sharvan Kumar was the only Bihar minister present in the meeting. Nishant, an engineering graduate who is in his 40s, will join the JD(U) at its headquarters here in the presence of senior leaders, including Jha, party sources said. On the rare occasions that he is seen in public, Nishant has endeared himself to the people by his humility. Also, while interacting with the media, he has given glimpses of the close track he keeps of the good work done by his father. Meanwhile, speculations are rife that Nishant will be made deputy CM in the new government. A close aide of Nitish Kumar claimed on Saturday that a "unanimous" decision had been taken to

No plan to carve UT out of Bihar, Bengal districts: Nityanand Rai

Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, on Saturday dismissed speculations that a move was afoot to form a new centrally administered territory by carving districts out of Bihar and West Bengal. Rai, who is also a former Bihar BJP president, came out with a post on his X handle, rubbishing the claim of Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav. "It is totally contrary to facts that there is any plan to carve some districts out of Bihar and West Bengal to form a Union territory. Nobody should take the tweet of Pappu Yadav seriously," said Rai, who also tagged the Purnea MP, who supports the Congress. Yadav had on Friday alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to move to Rajya Sabha, and the appointment of Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, as the new governor, was part of the "BJP's game-plan" to create a Union territory after carving out Bihar's Seemanchal region and West Bengal's Muslim-dominated districts of Malda, Murshidabad and Uttar ...

Bihar MFI bill may disrupt operations, delay recoveries, say analysts

Analysts warn Bihar's proposed microfinance regulation could disrupt lending operations, weaken borrower credit discipline, and delay recoveries for NBFC-MFIs, banks and small finance banks

Day after Nitish filed RS nomination, JD(U) workers continue to vent spleen

JD(U) workers on Friday continued to protest the decision of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to enter the Rajya Sabha, a move seen as signalling the end of his more than two-and-a-half-decade-long stint in Bihar politics. At the JD(U) office here, situated right across the street from the BJP's state headquarters, irate party workers staged a demonstration alleging that "traitors" had hatched a "conspiracy" with the alliance partner to "get rid of" their leader, who had been an eyesore for the "powerful liquor lobby" ever since he brought prohibition. "There are some people in our party who are playing the role of Jaichand (12th-century Rajput chieftain who aided Afghan invader Muhammad Ghori). One is in the Union cabinet, and the other has come from the BJP and is lording over us now", an irate JD(U) worker alleged. The allusion was to Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, an old aide of Nitish Kumar and a former party president, and Sanjay Kumar Jha, the JD(U)'s working ...

Nitish files RS nomination; Bihar govt likely to be headed by BJP CM

Nitish Kumar filed his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday, signalling his exit as Bihar CM and setting off a tussle over succession as Opposition parties term the move a betrayal of the 2025 mandate

Huge betrayal of people's mandate: Congress on Nitish Kumar's move to RS

With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announcing that he will be contesting the Rajya Sabha polls, the Congress on Thursday said a "leadership coup and regime change orchestrated by G2" has taken place and is a "huge betrayal" of the mandate of the people. Kumar on Thursday announced that he will be contesting the Rajya Sabha polls, bringing the curtain down on his tenure as the longest-serving CM of Bihar. He said the new government that will be formed in the state will have his full cooperation and guidance. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "What the Indian National Congress had been saying often during the Bihar election campaign has now come to pass." "A leadership coup and regime change orchestrated by G2 has taken place. It is, in many ways, a huge betrayal of the mandate of the people," Ramesh said on X. Earlier, Kumar, expressing gratitude to the people of the state, said, "For more than two decades, you

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar confirms Rajya Sabha bid, thanks voters for trust

Nitish Kumar confirms he will seek entry to the Rajya Sabha, saying it fulfils a long-held goal, while the question of who will replace him as Bihar chief minister remains open

BJP leader dismisses rumours of Nitish Kumar moving to RS as Holi prank

Bihar was abuzz with speculation on Wednesday over rumours that JD(U) president and the state's longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may move to the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the BJP to take the top post while accommodating his son Nishant as deputy CM. However, senior BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh dismissed the rumour as a "Holi prank", asserting "Nitish Kumar ji is the chief minister". The filing of nomination papers for five Rajya Sabha seats in the state will close on Thursday. While the BJP has named its two candidates, including national general secretary Nitin Nabin, and confirmed a second consecutive term for junior NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha, the JD(U) is yet to officially announce its nominees. The rumours of Kumar, who turned 75 earlier this month, being one of the candidates of JD(U), surfaced a day after the party had announced that his son Nishant would be making a belated entry into politics. Earlier, there were speculations that the reclus

Under-construction bridge collapses in Bihar's Gopalganj, DM orders action

A portion of an under-construction small bridge collapsed in Bihar's Gopalganj district, an official said on Monday. No one was injured in the incident that occurred on the evening of February 28. The small bridge was being constructed on the Ghoghari river in Siddhwalia block by the Rural Works Department (RWD) of the state government. District Magistrate, Gopalganj, Pawan Kumar Sinha, who visited the spot on Monday, ordered strict departmental action, including termination of service of the concerned Assistant Engineer (AE) and Junior Engineer (JE) of the Rural Works department (RWD). The bridge was being constructed at a cost of Rs 2.87 crore, an official said. The DM has also ordered black-listing of the contractor who is constructing the small bridge. "Preliminary investigation has revealed gross negligence of supervision on the part of the concerned AE and JE. It has also been found that the concerned contractor failed to follow the protocol pertaining to quality management

Bihar govt signs pacts for investments worth ₹468 cr at AI Impact Summit

The Bihar government has signed initial pacts with technology companies and IIT Patna at India AI Impact Summit here for investments worth Rs 468 crore across several projects, including a research park. According to an official statement, the Bihar government has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 468 crore with several major technology companies as well as with IIT Patna. The state government has signed MoU worth Rs 60 crore to set up Bihar AI CoE (centre of excellence). An MoU worth Rs 250 crore was signed for setting up a research park at IIT Patna. Tiger Analytics will be Industry Partner and IIT Patna will be Academic Partner. In addition, MoUs were signed with GCC units and IT units such as Red Cyber (Rs 103 crore), GrowQR (Rs 30 crore), and CIPL (Rs 25 crore), among others under Bihar GCC policy 2026 and Bihar IT policy 2024. "This move is expected to create over 10,000 new job opportunities in the field of emerging technologies. Additionally, more than 50,

Will wipe out ₹2,162 crore losses by March 2028: Bihar Gramin Bank Chairman

Bihar Gramin Bank's JEEViKA exposure at ₹11,500 crore; NPAs below 2%

Ceigall Infra secures Rs 2,160 crore NHAI HAM road project in Bihar

The project involves four-laning of the 78.94 km Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah stretch of NH-139W under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, with a 15-year O&M period

Pappu Yadav gets bail in forgery case, to stay in jail for separate case

The MP/MLA court here on Tuesday granted bail to independent MP Pappu Yadav in a three-decade-old forgery case. Yadav was arrested on Friday evening at his residence by Patna Police after a warrant was issued against him by the court in connection with a 1995 case lodged under Section 467 (forgery of documents) of the IPC. He was admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) due to illness the next morning. Advocate Shivnandan Bharti, who appeared for the MP, told reporters: "Pappu Yadav has been granted bail in the 1995 case. However, he will remain in custody, as another case was filed on the same day at the Buddha Colony police station for allegedly obstructing police work." He claimed that the police "conspired" to file a case accusing him of obstructing their work while he had "offered himself for arrest after seeing the warrant". The advocate said that the MP himself raised certain questions before the court during the hearing. An ACJM court on Saturday ordered that

How Bihar is attempting power supply cost reduction, sector turnaround

Smart power procurement, ERP mandates and infrastructure upgrades are helping Bihar lower electricity supply costs and improve the efficiency and quality of power distribution

Why did Ajay Singh's video on a closed ethanol plant in Bihar go viral?

In his video post, Ajay Singh repeatedly referred to his agonising condition as the govt owned companies has stopped buying ethanol from his plant in Bihar, putting his entire business into turmoil

Nitish Kumar vows to double Bihar income, create 1 crore jobs in 5 years

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday asserted that his government has set a target of doubling the state's per capita income in the next five years, besides generating "one crore jobs and employment opportunities". The longest-serving CM of the state made the statement inside the Assembly, while replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the governor's reply. "We have done a lot, but we wish to do more. We have set a target of doubling the per capita income of Bihar in the next five years. To achieve this target, we intend to boost industrial growth. Schemes like Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana would also do their bit in giving rise to entrepreneurship", said the 75-year-old leader. The scheme was rolled out ahead of the Assembly polls held in November, under which Rs 10,000 was given to more than one crore women. Kumar also reiterated the promise of "one crore jobs and employment opportunities (Rozgar) till 2030," which was made by the BJP-led coalition ahead of

Bihar's growth surpasses national average: State finance minister

Bihar Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav on Monday said the state recorded a 13.1 per cent growth in the 2024-25 financial year, which was better than the "national average of 9.8 per cent". The minister tabled the Bihar Economic Survey for 2025-26 in the assembly on the inaugural day of the budget session, and asserted that the state was progressing along a "high-growth trajectory", supported by "macroeconomic stability, sectoral diversification, increased investment, and a sustained focus on human capital development, employment generation and infrastructure enhancement". Yadav said, "Bihar's economy posted a strong growth as the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) recorded a robust growth of 13.1 per cent, whereas the national growth rate was 9.8 per cent during the same period (2024-25)." Bihar's fiscal trajectory demonstrates "disciplined financial management" with the total expenditure by the state government increasing from Rs 1.66 lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs 2.82 lakh ..