The Bihar Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, on Wednesday cleared 13 proposals at a meeting held at the Main Secretariat in Patna, with decisions spanning healthcare, industry, skilling, fisheries, social welfare and infrastructure. The headline measure: the financial assistance ceiling under the Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Fund has been hiked from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh, easing the burden on patients from economically weaker sections.

Healthcare relief expanded

The revised cap under the Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Fund is expected to widen the pool of families able to seek state support for high-cost treatment. The Cabinet also approved a policy allowing doctors in the General, Specialist and Dental cadres of the Bihar Health Service to obtain No-Objection Certificates for pursuing higher education, subject to specified conditions — a move pitched at retaining and upskilling medical talent within the state system.

Industrial push across districts

The Cabinet cleared a capital investment of ₹483.51 crore for a carbonated soft drink and juice-based beverage manufacturing unit, paired with a solar power facility, in the Nawanagar Industrial Area of Buxar district. The project is projected to generate direct employment for around 400 skilled and unskilled workers.

Under the Industrial Investment Promotion framework, an ₹83.25 crore grain storage and processing unit was approved for Madhubani district, expected to create 109 direct and indirect jobs. The Cabinet also sanctioned ₹164.51 crore for implementing the centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises scheme in FY 2026-27.

Fisheries, dairy and AIIMS Darbhanga

Administrative approval of ₹31.30 crore was granted for an Integrated Aqua Park at the Banasur Fish Seed Farm in Bhojpur district, aimed at scaling Bihar's aquaculture base. The Cabinet also approved the free transfer of 7 acres for a Dairy and Milk Production Centre in Mohania, Kaimur district.

The Water Resources Department has been authorised to use soil and silt from desilting nearby rivers for land-filling and levelling at the AIIMS Darbhanga site, with funds released against previously sanctioned estimates.

Skilling, posts and power grievance forums

The Cabinet approved 38 new posts and an annual recurring expenditure of ₹2.11 crore for the newly established ITI at Nabinagar in Aurangabad district, with training in five trades starting FY 2026-27. An additional 19 posts were sanctioned under the Department of Youth, Employment and Skill Development at a cost of ₹2.24 crore annually, to bolster the Bihar Skill Development Mission aligned with the “Double Employment, Double Income” objective under Saat Nishchay Part-3.

To strengthen the women-led child development workforce, the Bihar Child Development Service Recruitment and Service Conditions (Amendment) Rules, 2026 were cleared — 136 of the 544 sanctioned posts will be filled by promoting serving female supervisors on a seniority-cum-merit basis. The Cabinet also created four senior posts — two Chief Engineers and two Electrical Executive Engineers — for a two-tier Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum under the North Bihar Power Distribution Company and South Bihar Power Distribution Company.

What's next

Implementation timelines now shift to the line departments, with most disbursements and recruitments slated to roll into FY 2026-27. The combined industrial commitments approved on Wednesday are expected to add upwards of 500 direct jobs across Buxar and Madhubani alone.