Nitish Kumar cabinet approves 129 proposals, hiked DA, doubled student scholarship.
Photo Credit: The Suncity News.
Patna, October 3, 2025: In a crucial meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bihar cabinet approved 129 proposals across various departments on Friday, giving major relief to government employees, pensioners and students ahead of Diwali and Chhath festivals.
The biggest announcement came in the form of a 3% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state employees and pensioners.
With this decision, the DA/DR rate has been raised from 55% to 58%, effective from July 2025.
Samrat Choudhary appreciated the move of CM Nitish Kumar:
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the move is a festive gift to lakhs of employees and pensioners.
“The Nitish Kumar government has approved increasing DA on the lines of the central government. The Bihar government is committed to safeguarding livelihoods against inflation. The hike will put an additional burden of Rs 917.78 crore on the state exchequer in the FY 2025-26,” he said.
The Nitish Kumar government also doubled the scholarship for school students:
The cabinet also cleared a doubling of scholarships under the Chief Minister’s Boys and Girls Scholarship Scheme for school children from grades 1 to 10.
Students in classes 1 to 4 will now receive Rs 1,200 annually, up from Rs 600 earlier.
Similarly, those in classes 5 and 6 will get Rs 2,400, up from Rs 1,200, while students in classes 7 to 10 will receive Rs 3,600 annually. They were receiving Rs 1,800 earlier.
The decision, taken on the proposal of the Education Department, aims to provide financial support to students in primary, middle and secondary schools across Bihar.
With these measures, the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government has sought to combine festive goodwill with welfare initiatives, reinforcing its pro-employee and pro-student image ahead of the assembly elections.
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EOM.