Patna, December 9 (ABN). Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar presided over the meeting of the Bihar cabinet. This is the second meeting of the Bihar cabinet after the formation of the new government. The cabinet meeting could not be held last week due to the winter session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. In the first meeting held on November 25, 10 agendas were approved.

In the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 19 agendas were approved. The most notable among them is a 5% increase in the daily allowance (DA) of government employees. From July 1, 2025, they will get 257% DA instead of 252%.

Under the 6th Central Pay Scale, state government employees and pensioners receiving salary and pension will get 257% DA instead of 252%. Meanwhile, state government employees and pensioners receiving salary and pension under the 5th Central Pay Scale will get 474% DA instead of 466%. This will be available from July 1, 2025.

The National Stock Exchange of India Limited, Mumbai, has approved a memorandum of understanding with the Bihar government to organize a student skill program for the empowerment of Bihar youth and skill development. An amount of Rs 400 crore has been approved for the payment of pending dues of power distribution companies to the state's municipal bodies for the financial year 2025-26. Approval has been given to remove Sdhier Kumar, the then district manager of Rohtas State Food Corporation.

Approval has been given to establish a corpus fund of Rs 15 crore for the Valmiki Tiger Reserve Foundation and Trust. The formation and registration of the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park Management and Development Committee under the Bihar Societies Registration Act 1960 have also been approved.

The Nitish government has approved the formation of three new departments in the cabinet. In addition to the existing 45 departments, these three new departments will be: Youth Employment and Skill Development Department, Higher Education Department, and Civil Aviation Department. Additionally, the name of the Animal and Fisheries Resource Department has been changed to Dairy Fisheries and Animal Resource Department, the name of the Labor Resource Department has been changed to Labor Resources and Migrant Workers Welfare Department, and the name of the Arts, Culture, and Youth Department has been changed to Arts and Culture Department.

Earlier, in the cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister had decided to form a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to develop Bihar as a new technology hub for eastern India, a defense corridor, a semiconductor manufacturing park, centers of global excellence, a mega tech city, and a fintech city, and to increase the network of industries to fulfill the promise of providing one crore jobs.

The cabinet has approved the opening of 25 sugar mills in Bihar. A high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary has also been formed. A decision has been taken to reopen 9 closed sugar mills. The cabinet has also approved the formation of a high-level committee to achieve the goal of establishing Bihar as a global bank and a global workplace within the next five years under the New Age Economy. A decision has also been taken to develop 11 satellite townships in Bihar, which will generate large-scale employment.