Page 4 - Bihar Government

Opportunist govt destroyed law and order in Bihar: Kharge takes dig at NDA

Taking to X, Kharge highlighted the rising crime in the state, noting yesterday's Purnia witchcraft murder case and the murders of businessmen in the state

EC should take cognisance of violent incidents in Bihar: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said the Election Commission should take cognisance of incidents of violence in Bihar, including the murder of Patna-based businessman Gopal Khemka, for the conduct of peaceful elections in the state. In a post on X, she spoke about the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls laster this year. "The recent sensational murder of Gopal Khemka, a prominent industrialist and leader of the ruling party BJP, in Patna, has heated up the politics of the state in a new way," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. "If the Election Commission takes cognisance of this bloodshed and appropriate action right now, it will be better for conducting peaceful elections," she said. Khemka was shot dead by an unidentified armed assailant outside his house in Gandhi Maidan locality of Patna on Friday as he was about to alight from his car. His mortal remains were consigned to flames at Gulbi Ghat in Patna on Sunday. A large number

Prominent Patna businessman Gopal Khemka shot dead, Oppn says 'Jungle Raj'

A special investigation team headed by the Patna Central SP has been set up to probe the murder, which took place late Friday night in the Gandhi Maidan area

Why Bihar's voter list update has sparked fears of disenfranchisement

A special revision of Bihar's electoral rolls has triggered a political storm, with concerns over voter deletion, citizenship proof, and impact on the poor and marginalised

Bihar govt launches paid internship scheme to support youth employment

The Bihar government on Tuesday launched the 'Mukhya Mantri Pratigya' scheme to provide financial support to youths for carrying out internship programmes after clearing their class 12 board examination. The decision to launch the paid internship program, which aims to address youth unemployment and enhance industry readiness among students, was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday. "The Cabinet approved the 'Mukhya Mantri Pratigya' scheme on Tuesday. Under the scheme, youths aged between 18 and 28, having either trained under skill development programme or those who have passed Class 12 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) diploma, graduate and post-graduate will get financial support for availing internship training," Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) S Siddhartha said. The youths during their internship programme will be given financial support for a period ranging from three months to 12 months. Those who have cleared the .

Bihar govt hands over appointment letters for more than 21,000 police jobs

More than 21,000 newly recruited police personnel in Bihar on Saturday received their appointment letters at a function here, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the state now has the "highest number of women in uniform". The chief minister said no other state has as many women (in the police force) as Bihar. "I have asked the DGP to finalise the recruitment of another 55,000 personnel at the earliest. We want to raise the strength of our police force to 2.29 lakh," the CM said. Altogether 21,391 fresh recruits, including 11,178 women and 10,205 men, were given their letters of appointment at an auditorium here where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and DGP Vinay Kumar were among those present. "We came to power in November 2005 and at that time the strength of Bihar Police was just 51,000. Now, the government is committed to increasing the strength of the Police force to 2.29 lakh, and our government has substantially increased the strength of women

Rs 20,000 cr spent so far on PM Modi's rallies in Bihar, claims Tejashwi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday continued with his "pickpocket" jibe, claiming that a staggering Rs 20,000 crore has been spent on rallies addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar so far. The BJP also sharpened its counter-attack, with posters being put up across the state capital bearing the slogan "Mera baap chaara chor, mujhe vote do" (my father stole fodder meant for cattle, vote for me), belittling the leader of the opposition who leads the INDIA bloc in the upcoming assembly polls. The young leader, who had a day ago raised the hackles of the ruling NDA by alleging that exorbitant ticket fares of Vande Bharat made Modi look like a "pocketmaar" (pickpocket), used the expression again in a stinging social media post. He alleged that rallies of Modi in Bihar, since 2014, have cost "Rs 100 crore each" and there have been "200 such public meetings" so far. "So the total amount splurged during the period, which has also seen five elections (three Lok Sabha and two .

ED conducts fresh searches in Bihar govt tenders' irregularities case

The Enforcement Directorate has conducted fresh searches in a money laundering case linked to an alleged contractor-bureaucrats nexus in Bihar where purported irregularities were detected in the tenders issued by the state government. The raids were conducted at nine locations in Patna and Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Surat (Gujrarat) and Panipat (Haryana) on Thursday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the case linked to Patna-based contractor Rishu Shree, the federal probe agency said in a statement. Several "incriminating" evidence and documents were seized during the raids that were carried out against some people and travel agents "connected" to the contractor, it said. The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the special vigilance unit (SVU) of Bihar government against Rishu Shree and others. The companies of the contractor take contracts and sub-contracts in various Bihar government departments like water resources, health, public health engineeri

Bihar logged 891 girls per 1,000 boys in 2022, lowest sex ratio at birth

Bihar is the only state where the sex ratio at birth has fallen each year since 2020, dropping from 964 to 891 even as political parties woo women voters

Bihar reduces VAT on aviation turbine fuel to 4% to boost air connectivity

The Bihar Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal for reduction of value-added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from 29 per cent to 4 per cent. The state Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, approved the proposal of the Commercial Tax department to reduce VAT on ATF to attract more commercial flights. Bihar DyCM Samrat Choudhary in a statement issued after the cabinet meeting said, "The Cabinet approved the reduction of VAT on ATF from 29 per cent to 4 per cent under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). With this decision of the government, the air ticket prices will further reduce and it will also attract more commercial fights in the state.it will further enhance state's revenue and will also generate employment.". Earlier, 4 per cent VAT on ATF was applicable at Gaya airport only, Choudhary who also holds the Finance portfolio said, adding now the reduced rate will be applicable at all airports in the state. "This was also done with the objective

Liquor ban in Bihar turns election flashpoint amid rising criticism

Ban on alcohol consumption in Bihar becomes a key election issue as JD(U) defends it, other parties demand a review, and deaths due to spurious liquor as well as revenue loss fuel criticism

Bihar govt transfers 45 IAS officers in major bureaucratic reshuffle

The Bihar government has transferred 45 IAS officers, including several district magistrates (DMs), in a major shake-up in its bureaucracy ahead of the assembly elections, due later this year. Thirty-one officers of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) were also transferred as a part of the rejig, according to an order issued by the General Administration Department on Saturday. Besides, the state government also made new appointments in the Mahadalit Commission and the Scheduled Caste Commission. Patna DM Chandrasekhar Singh, an IAS officer of the 2010 batch, was appointed Commissioner of the Patna division. Gaya DM Thyagarajan S M of the 2011 batch was made the new DM of Patna, the order stated. Mayank Warwade, the previous Commissioner of the Patna division, was made the State Project Director of the Bihar Education Project Council. Darbhanga DM Rajeev Raushan was appointed the Commissioner of the Saran division, while Avneesh Kumar Singh was made the Commissioner of Munger .

Bihar cabinet approves renaming of Gaya town to 'Gaya Ji' citing sentiment

Additional chief secretary S Siddharth said the renaming of Gaya to 'Gaya Ji' was based on local sentiments and the town's historical and religious importance, as decided in a state cabinet meeting

Nitish Kumar-led Bihar govt hikes DA for its employees, pensioners to 55%

The Bihar government announced a 2 percentage points increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners on Friday. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. With this hike, employees and pensioners in the pay scale of the 7th Pay Commission will get DA and Dearness Relief (DR) of 55 per cent, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat) S Siddharth said. "A hike of 6 percentage points has been approved for those in the pay scale of the 6th Pay Commission. This will raise their DA and DR to 252 per cent. For those in the pay scale of the 5th Pay Commission, the DA and DR have been raised by 11 percentage points to 466 per cent," he said. The hike will benefit more than 5 lakh employees and over 6 lakh pensioners, officials said. It will be effective from January 1, 2025, they said.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces Rs 10 lakh reward for Vaibhav Suryavanshi

he 14-year-old, who has recently taken baby steps in his career, toyed with GT's bowling unit, boasting 694 international caps

Bihar govt ensures departure of all Pak nationals ahead of Apr 27 deadline

The Bihar government has said that all Pakistani nationals, who had been to the state in the recent past, have left well ahead of the April 27 deadline. A total of 19 Pakistani nationals, who came to different districts of Bihar on visit visas and tourist visas left the state on April 25 or before that, as per data provided by the state government. The details pertain to those Pakistani nationals who visited the state after January 2025. "The districts have reported that no more Pakistani nationals are left in the state who are yet to return. Only those Pakistani nationals who are on medical visas and long-term visas (LTVs) are currently staying in Bihar. The medical visas are valid till April 29," Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary told PTI on Saturday. The Bihar government had on Friday directed the officials concerned to ensure that no Pakistani citizen stays in India beyond the deadline set by the Centre. "In continuation of the decisions taken

PM Modi flags off 4 trains, launches projects worth Rs 13,500 cr for Bihar

The four new trains are Amrit Bharat express between Saharsa and Mumbai, Namo Bharat Rapid rail between Jaynagar and Patna and trains between Pipra and Saharsa and Saharsa and Samastipur

Centre approves over Rs 2K crore for MGNREGA wage payments in Bihar

The Centre on Saturday sanctioned the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore to Bihar for the payment of the first installment of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2025-26. The amount will be used to pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers in the state. A letter to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Rural Development from New Delhi. Commenting on it, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "The development comes barely five days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar. The NDA government is committed to the welfare of MGNREGA workers. To pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers, the Centre has approved the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore as the first installment. We thank the PM for it." Out of the total sanctioned fund, Rs 411.47 crore will be distributed among SC labourers, Rs 438.9 for ST labourers and Rs 164 crore for Other Class workers. The arrears of MNREGA workers will also be paid after ..

Storm, lightning kill 22 in Bihar's Nalanda; CM announces ₹4 lakh ex-gratia

Of the total casualties, 21 people died as a result of the thunderstorm, while one person succumbed to injuries caused by lightning, the DM said

Big perk bonanza: Bihar govt clears 30% pay hike for MoS, deputy ministers

Bihar Cabinet has approves 30 per cent hike in salaries, allowances for ministerial-equivalent roles; and gave nods creation of 26,000 government posts, including three new health directorates