Patna, Sep 18 (IANS) — Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced a ₹1,000 monthly allowance for unemployed graduates, in what is being seen as a major outreach to young and first-time voters ahead of the Assembly polls.
In a post on X, Kumar reaffirmed his government’s focus on youth empowerment, recalling that since 2005, employment generation has been a top priority. He also set a target of creating one crore jobs in both the public and private sectors over the next five years.
The new assistance will be provided under the Chief Minister’s Self-Help Allowance Scheme, part of the government’s flagship 7 Nischay programme. Until now, the scheme covered only intermediate-pass candidates.
As per the revised rules, unemployed graduates aged 20–25 years, who are neither studying nor employed, will receive ₹1,000 per month for up to two years. Kumar said the support would help youth pursue skill training and prepare for competitive exams.
“This initiative aims to make educated youth self-reliant, skilled, and employable, enabling them to contribute to the development of both Bihar and the nation,” the Chief Minister said.
The announcement came a day after Kumar transferred ₹5,000 each to 16.04 lakh construction workers as part of the Annual Clothing Assistance Scheme, amounting to ₹802.46 crore. The transfer, coinciding with Vishwakarma Puja and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, was carried out in the presence of Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.
On the same occasion, Kumar also launched the Pratigya web portal for contractual workers in Patna.
