Patna, March 3 The Nitish Kumar government is set to present the Bihar Budget 2025-26 on Monday, with Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Samrat Choudhary tabling it in the Assembly.
This will be the government's last budget before the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar.
The state government is likely to focus on key voter groups: women, farmers, and youth and is expected to include special schemes targeting rural areas, the unemployed, and the economically weaker sections. New programmes for self-help groups, subsidies for entrepreneurs, direct benefit transfers, special incentives for irrigation, crop insurance, input subsidies, subsidies for industrial investment to address rising unemployment, expansion of rural roads, housing projects, and electrification would be the key highlights of this budget.
The Nitish Kumar government is expected to give special focus on education and youth to increase scholarships, skill development programmes, and job-oriented training.
With Bihar heading towards Assembly elections, this budget could see populist measures aimed at boosting the NDA’s appeal.
The state’s unemployment crisis and demand for better industrial investment may push the government to introduce bold reforms. The Nitish Kumar government is likely to focus on employment, women's empowerment, and farmers' welfare in its last pre-election budget.
Expansion of startup schemes to promote self-employment among youth, increase in MGNREGA scope to boost rural employment, promise of 34 lakh jobs, with an announcement for six lakh government jobs before elections, special package for women entrepreneurs with additional subsidies for small, medium, and large-scale businesses and separate fund allocation for Dalit women in business.
The state government may increase pensions for women and the elderly in Bihar. The current Rs 400/month pension may increase to Rs 1,000. Expected health insurance scheme for elderly women.
The Nitish Kumar government is expected to give subsidies on electricity and diesel for agricultural purposes to reduce farming costs, expansion of cold storage facilities for perishable goods, and subsidies on seeds for new crops to encourage farmers.
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