Bihar elections: Pre-poll schemes put youth, women in focus; new policies unveiled

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University on Saturday. By honouring Thakur, NDA govt signalled a strategic outreach to these communities and reinforced backward caste consolidation in the poll-bound state.

The launch anchors a series of Bihar-centric youth empowerment initiatives worth over Rs 62,000 crore nationally, with a sharp focus on the state’s young demographic. Modi will unveil the revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Svyam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana , offering a monthly Rs 1,000 allowance for two years to nearly 5 lakh graduates, bundled with free skill training.

This builds on the recent Rs 7,500 crore first instalment under Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana , disbursed on Sept 26 to 75 lakh women for self-employment ventures. Education will get a boost with the redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme , offering interest-free loans up to Rs 4 lakh—already aiding 3.92 lakh students with Rs 7,880 crore disbursed. Modi will also formally inaugurate the Bihar Yuva Aayog, a statutory body for 18-45-year-olds, to harness the state’s demographic dividend through targeted youth policies.

Further, PM-SETU will prioritise Bihar’s ITIs in Patna and Darbhanga, upgrading infrastructure, digital tools, and incubation hubs, while PM-USHA will fund advanced facilities in four Bihar universities, benefiting 27,000 students. He will also dedicate NIT Patna’s Bihta campus, accommodating 6,500 students with modern facilities including a 5G lab, ISRO’s Regional Academic Centre for Space, and an incubation centre nurturing nine startups.