In anticipation of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the NDA government has launched a significant initiative targeting women, a demographic comprising approximately 48% of the state’s population. The ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana,’ spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the chief guest, aims to empower women through direct financial assistance. The program has already disbursed ₹10,000 each to the bank accounts of 7.5 million women in Bihar, totaling an expenditure of ₹7,500 crore. The central government’s objective is to foster self-reliance and promote women’s empowerment through self-employment and livelihood opportunities. Under this scheme, each family in the state will have one woman receive financial aid to start her preferred employment or livelihood activities. In addition to the initial grant, further financial assistance of up to ₹2 lakh is expected. Beneficiaries can engage in various fields, including agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, tailoring, weaving, and other small-scale industries. The scheme will be community-driven, with support and training provided by community resource persons associated with Self-Help Groups. Furthermore, rural haat-bazaars will be developed to boost sales of women’s products. The direct benefit transfer (DBT) system is being used to transfer funds, ensuring transparency and reducing corruption while ensuring timely benefits to the beneficiaries.
