More than a quarter-million Bihar farmers woke up on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, to a direct deposit in their bank accounts — flood relief they had been waiting for since the monsoon devastated their standing crops. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary personally initiated the transfer from the dialogue hall of the Chief Minister's Secretariat, pushing ₹112.52 crore in agricultural input grants to 2,48,704 flood-affected farmers via Direct Benefit Transfer. Posting on X, Chief Minister Choudhary announced: 'Mukhyamantri Sachivalaya sthit Samvad Kaksh se baadh ke kaaran fasal kshati se prabhavit 2,48,704 kisanon ke bank khaton mein ₹112.52 crore ki krishi input anudan rashi DBT ke madhyam se antarit ki' — ('From the Dialogue Hall at the Chief Minister's Secretariat, an agricultural input grant of ₹112.52 crore has been transferred via DBT into the bank accounts of 2,48,704 farmers affected by flood-induced crop damage.')

What the ₹112.52 crore grant is meant to do

Agricultural input grants are designed to bridge the gap between a ruined harvest and the next sowing cycle. When floodwaters recede and leave behind waterlogged or silt-choked fields, farmers face an immediate cash crunch — they need to buy seeds, fertilisers, and basic inputs before the next crop window closes. The grant lands directly in a beneficiary's bank account, bypassing the traditional chain of middlemen that historically delayed — and sometimes diverted — relief funds. Bihar is one of India's most flood-prone states. Rivers including the Kosi and the Ganga regularly spill into the plains during the monsoon, wiping out paddy and maize crops across multiple districts. Each year, the damage triggers a political and administrative race to assess losses and release relief before the next agricultural season is lost too.

DBT and Bihar's shift toward transparent relief

The Direct Benefit Transfer architecture has been progressively adopted by both the central and Bihar state governments to plug the leaks in subsidy delivery. By routing money electronically into verified bank accounts, the system creates a digital audit trail — every rupee can be traced from state treasury to individual farmer. Successive Bihar administrations have leaned into this model for flood relief, arguing it is faster and more tamper-proof than cash distribution through local officials. At ₹112.52 crore spread across 2,48,704 beneficiaries, the per-farmer average works out to roughly ₹4,530 — a sum calibrated to cover essential input costs rather than full crop-loss compensation. The state is expected to conduct ongoing district-wise damage assessments, and further tranches of relief could follow for areas not yet covered in this round. For nearly two and a half lakh farming families across Bihar, today's credit notification is not just a government statistic — it is the difference between planting next season and sitting it out.