Nitish Kumar announces ₹1,000 monthly aid for unemployed graduates in Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced the expansion of the state government’s self-help allowance scheme to unemployed graduates ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

Kumar said the scheme, earlier limited to intermediate-passed youth, will now cover unemployed graduates in the 20-25 age group.

Those who have completed degrees in arts, science or commerce but are not pursuing further studies, nor engaged in any employment or self-employment, will be eligible for an allowance of ₹1,000 per month for up to two years.

“I hope that the youth will use this assistance to obtain necessary training and prepare for competitive examinations so that their future can be secured,” the CM posted on X in Hindi, underlining that providing jobs and employment had been his government’s “top priority” since 2005.

The scheme is part of the government’s ‘Saat Nishchay’ programme and comes alongside Kumar’s stated target of creating one crore jobs over the next five years.

On Tuesday, the chief minister announced that education loans under the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme will now be interest-free for all applicants.

The scheme, in operation since October 2016, previously charged 4% interest for general male applicants and 1% for female, differently-abled and transgender students.

"For loans above Rs 2 lakh, the repayment period has been extended from 84 monthly instalments to a maximum of 120 monthly instalments," he had said.

The chief minister said the objective of his government is to ensure that students can pursue higher education.

He said the decisions will boost the morale of students, enabling them to pursue higher education with greater enthusiasm and dedication, thereby shaping not only their own future but also the future of the state and the country.

The series of welfare measures is seen as part of the ruling dispensation’s outreach in the run-up to the polls.

Last month, the state cabinet approved the ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana’ to support women in starting employment ventures. Under the scheme, one woman from each family will get an initial assistance of ₹10,000, with a provision for up to ₹2 lakh additional aid after six months, based on need.

In July, Kumar announced a hike in incentives for grassroots health workers, tripling monthly payments for ASHA workers from ₹1,000 to ₹3,000 and doubling Mamta workers’ remuneration per delivery to ₹600.

From August 1, the government also rolled out 125 units of free electricity for domestic consumers, benefitting over 1.67 crore families.

The slew of announcements targeting youth, women, health workers, and households comes as the state braces for the assembly elections later this year.