Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made a major hike in the monthly pension for aged, disabled individuals and widow women, increasing it from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100. The move, which will come into effect in July, will benefit a major 10,969,255 beneficiaries of the state’s Social Security Pension Scheme.

“I am happy to inform you that under the Social Security Pension Scheme, all the elderly, disabled, and widowed women will now get a pension of Rs. 1100 instead of Rs. 400 every month,” said Kumar on social media platform ‘X’. Kumar assured that all pensioners will get the higher pension rate from July, with amounts credited in their accounts by the 10th of the month. “This will benefit 1 crore 9 lakh 69 thousand 255 beneficiaries significantly,” he stated further.

Dignified Living And Local Governance

The chief minister stressed that their support to the aged would continue, saying, “The elderly are a precious part of society and ensuring their dignified living is our top priority. The state government will continue to make efforts in this direction.”

In an effort to strengthen local administration, the Bihar government has also amended powers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Village chiefs (mukhiyas) can now approve schemes of up to Rs 10 lakh on their own, doubling the earlier limit of Rs 5 lakh.

Greater Allowances For Panchayati Raj Representatives

Further consolidating local governance, Chief Minister Kumar sanctioned substantial hikes in allowances of elected members of the Panchayati Raj system in a meeting on Thursday.

• The Zilla Parishad (ZP) President’s monthly allowance increased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.
• The ZP Vice President’s allowance was raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.
• Mukhiyas will now receive Rs 7,500 per month, up from Rs 5,000.

PM Modi’s Visit And Development Push

This sequence of statements precedes the Bihar Assembly polls, to be held later this year, when the Janata Dal (United) and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will look to gain greater strength against the opposition alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.

Adding to the political momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Siwan on Friday, marking his fifth tour of Bihar in 2025. Addressing a large gathering, PM Modi lauded Bihar’s contribution to national progress and criticised the Congress-RJD alliance while endorsing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s development initiatives.

“India is on the path to becoming the third-largest economy, and Bihar will play a big role in this,” PM Modi asserted. He made announcements of worth Rs 5,736 crore, including 22 urban infrastructure projects, six new road projects, one railway project, and two new trains’ inauguration, including a Vande Bharat Express. He also inaugurated the first export of a locomotive manufactured at the Madhura rail factory, asserting, “The engine manufactured in Bihar will now operate trains in Africa. this is the new face of Bihar.”