Bihar govt hikes DA, DR for employees and pensioners ahead of Chhath festival

Patna: Bihar Cabinet on Tuesday approved an increase in the dearness allowance for its employees and dearness relief for pensioners with effect from July 1, 2026.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. It has come as a great relief for state government employees and pensioners ahead of Chhath Puja.

According to the Finance Department proposal approved by the Cabinet, "Under the 7th Pay Commission structure, DA/DR has been raised from 60 per cent to 63 per cent, while those covered by the 6th Pay Commission will receive an increase from 262 per cent to 269 per cent."

For employees and pensioners under the 5th Pay Commission structure, the DA/DR rate has been enhanced from 483 per cent to 497 per cent.

The revised rates will benefit serving state government employees, pensioners and family pensioners covered under the respective pay structures, said a senior official of the finance department.

The Cabinet also approved the implementation of the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme for regular employees of urban local bodies in the state.

"The decision is aimed at providing financial advancement to employees who often retire after serving for years in the same post without any promotion or career progression opportunities.

"The move follows long-standing demands from urban local body employees, who lacked provisions for regular promotions", said the approved proposal of the Urban Development and Housing Department,

The government is of the view that the scheme would boost employees' motivation, efficiency and commitment towards discharging their duties and responsibilities, said an official.

To encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and startup culture among female students studying in higher educational institutions, and to develop their innovative ideas into practical business ventures, the Cabinet approved the launch of the "Bihar Ki Beti Startup Challenge Scheme" (Bihar's Daughter Startup Challenge Scheme).

"The scheme will benefit a maximum of 2,100 female students, starting from the current financial year. It will remain in operation for four financial years, from 2026-27 to 2029-30. Administrative approval of Rs 88.20 crore has been granted for the implementation of the scheme", said the approved proposal of the Higher Education Department.

In an attempt to encourage the participation of female students in higher education and research, the Cabinet approved the launch of the "Mukhyamantri Balika PhD Fellowship Scheme".

To remain in operation for four financial years from 2026-27 to 2029-30, the approved proposal of the Department of Youth, Employment and Skill Development is expected to increase the overall enrolment ratio of women in higher education and enable female students to benefit from higher education.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal of the Department of Information Technology for the establishment of the 'Bihar Artificial Intelligence Mission' with the objective of positioning Bihar as a leading state in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

"One of its main objectives is to identify leading industries and institutions in the AI sector and secure their participation to develop an AI ecosystem within the state.

"To achieve this objective, M/s Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), Singapore, has been selected based on its nomination to strengthen the state's Artificial Intelligence ecosystem, skill development and innovation", said the approved proposal.

With the support of GFTN, National University of Singapore-Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) and Lynx Foundation, an advanced five-month AI certification programme will be conducted.

A total of 7,000 students (STEM/Non-STEM, undergraduate/postgraduate) will be trained over a period of five years.

Through GFTN, an AI and Quantum-enabled Digital Sandbox platform (Aryabhata Technology Observatory) will be established, said an official.

To address Bihar's specific challenges, startups, entrepreneurs, students, researchers and government officials will be provided with AI/ML APIs, Data Pipelines, LLM Gateway and Cloud IDE, he added.

"Bihar will be presented before global investors, technology companies and policymakers through 12 global platforms of GFTN, including the Singapore FinTech Festival, Point Zero Forum Zurich, Black Swan Summit, Bangkok Digital Finance Forum and GFTN Forum Japan," the official added.

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