Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday, 21 July 2026 announced that the state government has extended free electricity of up to 125 units to 1.70 crore families across Bihar, crediting the decision to suggestions received from Jeevika Didis — the women self-help group members enrolled under the JEEViKA programme.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, CM Choudhary stated that the Bihar government listened 'sensitively' to the suggestions of Jeevika Didis before taking this 'big decision.' He described the free electricity scheme not merely as a policy measure but as 'a powerful outcome of women's trust, public dialogue, and good governance.' His post carried the hashtag #JEEViKA, directly linking the electricity benefit to the state's flagship women's livelihood mission.

The Chief Minister framed the initiative in broader developmental terms, writing: 'Janbhagidari se jankallyan, aur jankallyan se samridh Bihar' — 'From public participation to public welfare, and from public welfare to a prosperous Bihar — this is the core mantra of our development journey.'

Policy Backdrop

JEEViKA, formally the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), is one of India's largest rural livelihood programmes, mobilising women into self-help groups across all 38 districts of Bihar. The network has grown to encompass tens of thousands of SHGs, giving the state government a direct feedback channel into rural households — the same channel CM Choudhary cited as the trigger for this electricity decision.

Free or subsidised electricity for domestic consumers has become a prominent feature of state welfare policy across India, with multiple governments offering zero-cost units to lower-income households. Bihar's announcement of 125 free units per month for 1.70 crore families places the scheme among the larger such interventions in the country by sheer beneficiary count.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are 1.70 crore households — a figure that, at an average household size of roughly five persons, translates to a significant share of Bihar's total population of approximately 13 crore. Rural and semi-urban families with modest electricity consumption stand to gain the most, as 125 units per month covers basic lighting, fans, and small appliances.

Jeevika Didis — the grassroots women leaders who flagged electricity access as a household burden — are positioned by the government as co-authors of the policy. This framing reinforces the JEEViKA network's role beyond microcredit and livelihoods, extending it into a civic feedback mechanism that shapes state-level decisions.

What's Next

The announcement raises immediate questions about implementation: the billing mechanism for zero-cost units, the consumption threshold above which normal tariffs apply, and the fiscal outlay the Bihar government will absorb. With Bihar assembly elections on the horizon, the scheme is likely to attract scrutiny over both its delivery architecture and its political timing.

If the JEEViKA-to-policy pipeline is institutionalised, it could set a replicable model for other states seeking to embed SHG networks into governance feedback loops — a development that would have implications well beyond Bihar's borders.