The Bihar cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Tuesday cleared a 5 percentage point increase in dearness allowance for more than 10 lakh serving government employees and pensioners across the state. The hike will raise DA from 252% to 257% for those drawing pay under the sixth Central Pay Commission scales, while employees and pensioners still governed by the fifth Pay Commission will see their allowance rise from 466% to 474%.
The revised rates will be implemented retrospectively from July 1, 2025, ensuring arrears are credited along with the December salary and pension disbursements. The decision is expected to put an additional financial burden of several hundred crore rupees annually on the state exchequer but has been described by the government as essential to offset rising living costs.
In the same meeting, the cabinet gave its nod for the creation of three new administrative departments aimed at fulfilling the ruling NDA alliance’s electoral promise of generating one crore jobs over the next five years. The new departments are: Department of Youth Employment and Skill Development, Department of Higher Education, and Department of Civil Aviation.
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The newly constituted Department of Youth Employment and Skill Development will function as the nodal agency for large-scale skill training, industry linkage, and private-sector job placement programmes. The separation of Higher Education from the existing Education Department and the establishment of a dedicated Civil Aviation Department are intended to accelerate infrastructure projects, including new airports and expanded technical education institutions.
Taking to social media platform X shortly after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stated, “We have set an ambitious target of providing employment to one crore youth between 2025 and 2030. For this, maximum youth must receive quality skill development training and access to higher and technical education.” The decisions mark a significant step toward institutionalising the state’s job-creation roadmap ahead of the 2025 assembly elections.
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