Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia Monday said it was not possible to grant Bihar the status of a special category state but its special package can be improved.
"It is not possible to grant special status to Bihar as it does not meet the existing criteria. We can increase the special package for it," Ahluwalia told the media here.
Ahulwalia arrived here to attend a meeting of the national monitoring committee of the upcoming Nalanda University at Rajgir Tuesday.
Ahluwalia said Bihar needed more resources and increase in special package to meet its demand for more resources.
He admitted that the Planning Commission had recognised that Bihar does have special problems.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been consistently demanding a special category status for the state.