Bihar Government

BJP blames Speaker for taking side of ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar

BJP MLAs on Wednesday blamed Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary for taking side of ruling Mahagathbandhan in the state on the last day of the budget session

ED raids at Lalu's family as I am part of Mahagathbandhan, alleges Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that ED raids on the premises of former Union Railway minister Lalu Prasad and his associates was a result of him being a part of the Mahagathbandhan

Bihar govt asks depts to prioritise domestically manufactured goods

As part of its efforts to promote domestically manufactured goods, the Bihar government has directed all state-controlled bodies to accord priority and provide price preference to products manufactured by industrial units located within the state. In a circular issued to all corporations and autonomous bodies, the department of industries has asked them to strictly follow the state's 'Purchase Preference Policy-2002' and 'The Bihar Finance (Amendment) Rules, 2005' during government procurements. All departments of the state government have also been directed to abide by the directive, starting next financial year. "The notification will certainly provide impetus to domestic manufacturers and suppliers. It will also lead to growth in employment opportunities and income," Samir Kumar Mahaseth, the state industries minister, told PTI. Explaining further, the minister said that goods produced by the large or medium industries that are located and registered in Bihar will be given up to

Land-for-jobs scam: CBI summons Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav for questioning

The CBI has summoned Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav to appear for questioning in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam on Saturday, officials said. Yadav was earlier called for questioning on March 4 but he had not appeared before the CBI sleuths, following which a fresh date was given for Saturday, they said. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader was asked to appear for questioning on Saturday forenoon but he is yet to arrive at the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here, they said. The federal agency recently questioned RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi in Delhi and Patna respectively. The case pertains to people allegedly given employment in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and its associates, the officials said.

Big fish cannot ignore political stature of Manjhi, Chirag Paswan

The 2024 Lok Sabha election may be a tought fight between the BJP and Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, but the importance of smaller parties cannot be ruled out.

Nitish Kumar presents Rs 2.61 trillion Budget, affirms confidence in Bihar

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday presented a Rs 2.61 lakh crore budget, asserting that the state's finances were in a good shape as evident from markers like the fiscal deficit being under the prescribed conditional limit. Tabling the budget before the state assembly, Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary also flagged concerns like a drop in grants in aid received from the Centre, compared to the previous year, though Bihar's share in central taxes saw a rise. The total proposed budget expenditure of Rs 2,61,885.40 crore, for the year 2023-24, was Rs 24,194.21 crore more than the previous financial year. The state government also cited fiscal achievements like the fiscal deficit remaining at 3.78 per cent of the SGDP, which is under the prescribed conditional limit of 4.5 per cent. The budget pointed out that the grants in aid expected from the Centre for the current fiscal was estimated at Rs 53,377.92 crore, which was Rs 4,623.37 crore less" than what was received

People in Bihar upset with the old political leadership: Chirag Paswan

He also added that the people are looking towards young leaders to take the state to new heights with a fresh vision

Jungle Raj prevailing in Bihar, people fed up with govt: Dinesh Sharma

The people of Bihar are fed up with the Nitish Kumar government as "jungle raj" (lawlessness) prevails in the state, BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said on Sunday. He alleged that anti-social elements have been roaming freely in Bihar ever since Kumar joined hands with the RJD. "Nitish-Tejashwi-free Bihar has become the voice of people of the state," the former deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh told reporters here. Terming Nitish Kumar "the biggest opportunist", Sharma said the Bihar chief minister's statements against the BJP are just desperate acts. About the BSP and Samajwadi party's demand for a caste survey, he said these parties never made such a move while in power. "They raised the issue since they have so far not succeeded in dividing people based on caste and religion," the BJP leader alleged.

Bihar govt cancels 3.93 mn job cards of inactive labourers under MGNREGA

The affected labourers had not worked a single day in the last three years and were still earning money through this scheme

Upendra Kushwaha to launch 'Virasat Bachao Naman Yatra' on Feb 28

After forming a new political party in Bihar, Upendra Kushwaha on Wednesday said that he will start the Virasat Bachao Naman Yatra in the state from February 28

Nitish Kumar will not give the CM's chair to Tejashwi, says BJP leader

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council Samrat Chaudhary claimed that CM Nitish Kumar is fooling coalition partner RJD, and will not hand over his post to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav

Bihar govt hires shooters to kill nilgais, wild boars to ensure crop safety

The Bihar government has hired 13 professional shooters to kill wild boars and 'ghodparas' or nilgais to save crops, a forest official said on Tuesday. Animal lovers have opposed the move and demanded that the government find a long term solution to the problem and not allow the killing of the animals. The state environment, forest and climate change department has sent the list of the professional shooters to the authorities concerned in all 38 districts in the state to use their services wherever required. Districts where these two animal species are found in large numbers include Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Bhojpur, Sheohar and West Champaran, he said. There is no record of the number of nilgais or wild biars in the state. These two animal species move in herds and destroy acres of crops in a day. Farmers sit out all night to protect their ripening crops from them in some Bihar districts. Both ghodparas (nilgais) and wild boar are vermins and can be killed, but according

Cabinet expansion CM's prerogative: Congress after Tejaswi Yadav's denial

Reacting to Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav's statement ruling out the possibility of cabinet expansion in Bihar, PCC Chief Akhilesh Singh said that the cabinet expansion is the chief minister's prerogative

Would rather die than forming alliance with BJP, says Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted that he would choose death over any alliance with BJP its former ally

Bihar govt seeks GST compensation extension for another five years

The Bihar government on Wednesday urged the Centre to consider extending for another five years the GST compensation awarded to states, which was discontinued last year. State Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary flagged it as one of the expectations from the upcoming Union budget. "Several other concerns were also raised by me at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's pre-budget meeting with state representatives. One of these was, of course, the long-standing demand for special category status to Bihar," Chaudhary told PTI in an interview. "Another thorny issue has been the increasing load on the states with regard to centrally sponsored schemes. Earlier, the Centre used to bear 90 per cent of the total expenditure," he said. The ratio has "changed" and, now, states are required to "bear 50 per cent of the financial burden", Chaudhary claimed. "This is not proper. After all, the Centre claims all credit for such schemes", said the JD(U) leader, whose party snapped ties wi

Bihar inks MoU with FSI for TOF field survey to promote agroforestry

To encourage tree plantation on farmland along with crops to help farmers get additional income, Bihar government in association with FSI has decided to conduct 'Trees Outside Forest' (TOF) field survey to identify the dominant tree species that are growing outside the recorded forest areas (RFA) in the state, an official said. As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI) India state of Forest Report, 2021, Bihar has registered an increase of 3.79 per cent in growing stock in RFA and 0.58 per cent in TOF respectively, the official said. "The overall tree cover has also increased in the state from 2,003 sq km in 2019 to 2,341 sq km in 2021. The FSI survey was conducted by using remote sensing based forest cover mapping of all patches of more than one hectare within and outside the RFA. Now, we want a comprehensive TOF survey based on field inspection", Ashutosh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, told PTI. He said, "Through this survey, we would be able to identify the dominant tree .

Bihar govt initiates auction process for iron ore mines worth Rs 20,000 cr

The Bihar government has initiated a process for auctioning of glauconite and iron ore reserves worth Rs 20,000 crore in Rohtas and Jamui districts and will engage SBI Capital Markets to prepare a report for the same, an official said on Saturday. The government held a meeting with several stakeholders recently to initiate the auction process, Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Mines Commissioner Harjot Kaur Bamhrah said. The state government will shortly issue an order for engaging SBI Capital Markets as the transaction advisor and also to suggest terms and conditions based on which the auctions would be conducted, Bamhrah told PTI. The state government has asked SBI CAPS, the investment bank and project advisor, to submit a detailed report, she said. Once the report is submitted, the state government will initiate the process of granting permission to allow mining of glauconite and iron ore reserves worth Rs 20,000 crore, in Rohtas and Jamui districts on a lease basis, the mines ...

SC to hear PIL on Jan 20 against Bihar govt's move to conduct caste survey

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 20 a plea against the Bihar government's decision to conduct a caste census in the state. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Barun Kumar Sinha appearing for the petitioner mentioned the matter. The apex court noted that a similar matter had been posted for hearing on January 20. The top court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain the authorities from conducting the caste survey in the state. The petitioner, Akhilesh Kumar, has sought quashing of the notification dated June 6, 2022 issued by the Bihar government to conduct a caste survey in the state. The plea contended that the subject of the census falls in List 1 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and only the Centre has the power to hold the exercise. The PIL has alleged that the notification violated Article 14 of the Constitution which provides for equality befo

No more Deputy CM, new faces likely from RJD, Congress: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar categorically ruled out the possibility of appointing another deputy, other than Tejashwi Yadav, ending speculations that a top leader of his JD(U) was being considered for the job. New faces may, however, be inducted in the council of ministers from the allies RJD and the Congress, he told reporters during his visit to Madhubani on Wednesday as part of his 'Samadhan Yatra'. "We are a seven-party coalition and each constituent has a fixed share. Those whose ministers vacated posts may be accommodated accordingly. We may have some more from the Congress as well," Kumar said. Two ministers from the RJD quota - Sudhakar Singh and Kartik Kumar resigned within a couple of months of the formation of the Grand Alliance government in August last year. Moreover, the Congress, which has been given two berths, has been seeking a representation commensurate with its numerical strength in the assembly. The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly. The R

SC agrees to examine plea challenging caste census by Bihar govt on Friday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea seeking quashing the Bihar government's decision to conduct a caste survey in the state, on Friday