The Chief Minister's Office of Bihar on Monday, 1 June 2026 shared that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed officials to expand the coverage of state welfare schemes — including Parvarish Yojana — to reach the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries, naming the reduction of stunting and wasting figures among the government's highest priorities.

In the post, the Chief Minister's Office quoted Nitish Kumar as saying: 'rajya mein stunting evam wasting ke aankdon mein sudhar karna sarkar ki sarvoch praathmikataon mein shamil hai' — ('Improving the stunting and wasting figures in the state is among the government's foremost priorities'). He directed that the scope of Parvarish Yojana and other social welfare schemes be widened so that more eligible beneficiaries are covered.

Context

Stunting — low height for age — and wasting — low weight for height — are two critical indicators of child malnutrition. Bihar has historically reported malnutrition rates above the national average, with the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) conducted between 2019 and 2021 recording the state's stunting prevalence at above 40 percent. The Chief Minister's directive signals that these indicators remain a live concern for the state administration even as subsequent surveys are awaited.

The statement comes amid broader national efforts under the POSHAN Abhiyaan, the national nutrition mission launched in 2018, which mandates states to expand supplementary nutrition and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) coverage to drive down stunting and wasting figures in line with Sustainable Development Goal targets.

Policy Backdrop

Parvarish Yojana is a Bihar state scheme that provides nutritional support and care to vulnerable children, and has been a recurring instrument in the government's efforts to address child malnutrition. The scheme sits alongside centrally sponsored programmes under the POSHAN Abhiyaan umbrella, which promotes convergence across ministries to address the multiple determinants of malnutrition.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has led Bihar for multiple terms since 2005, has consistently positioned social welfare expansion as a governance priority. The latest directive to widen beneficiary coverage under Parvarish Yojana and allied schemes follows a pattern of using state-level instruments to supplement central nutrition programmes.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of any expansion would be malnourished children and families currently outside the coverage of existing welfare schemes — particularly those accessing services through anganwadi centres across Bihar's districts. Widening eligibility criteria or increasing outreach could bring a larger share of the state's nutritionally vulnerable population under formal support.

Social welfare administrators, anganwadi workers, and district-level officials are the key implementation actors. The directive places the onus on the delivery machinery to identify and enrol eligible beneficiaries who have so far been left out of scheme coverage.

What's Next

The practical impact of this directive will become clearer when the state government announces specific changes to Parvarish Yojana's eligibility criteria, beneficiary targets, or budget allocations. The release of subsequent rounds of the NFHS or a state-commissioned nutrition survey will serve as the key benchmark against which Bihar's progress on stunting and wasting is measured. Observers will also watch whether the state's annual budget reflects enhanced allocations for nutrition-linked welfare schemes in the coming fiscal cycle.