PATNA: The Bihar cabinet on Wednesday approved a two per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees, pensioners and family pensioners drawing revised pay and pension under the 7th Pay Commission.
According to Cabinet Secretariat Department Additional Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar Chaudhary, the DA has been increased from 58 per cent to 60 per cent and will be effective from January 1, 2026.
In a parallel revision, the cabinet also approved a five per cent increase in DA for employees and pensioners under the 6th Pay Commission, raising it from 257 per cent to 262 per cent. For those under the 5th Pay Commission, the DA has been raised by nine per cent, from 474 per cent to 483 per cent. The revised DA will also be payable from January 1, 2026. Officials said the decision will benefit nearly nine lakh government employees.
The cabinet also approved the transfer of 100 acres of land to the Government of India’s Food Processing Industries ministry for setting up the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Vaishali district. The land will be transferred free of cost through the Infrastructure Development Authority (IDA), Patna, which has been authorised to finalise the site selection.
Officials said the proposed NIFTEM campus is expected to provide high-quality technical education and skill training, helping develop skilled manpower and boost the food processing sector in the state.
In another decision, the cabinet cleared a private investment proposal to set up a dairy plant at the Industrial Area in the Sikandarpur Bihta cluster in Patna district under the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Rules, 2016. The project, with an estimated investment of Rs 97.17 crore, will produce 84,000 litres per day of full cream milk, 36,000 litres of toned milk, 60,000 litres of curd, 20,000 litres of buttermilk and 1,980 litres of butter daily. It is expected to generate employment for 170 skilled and unskilled workers.
The cabinet also approved the renaming of the “Mukhya Mantri Sukshm Evam Laghu Udyog Cluster Vikas Yojana” as the “Mukhya Mantri Sukshm, Laghu Evam Madhyam Udyog Cluster Vikas Yojana”, along with strengthening of the state-level committee under the scheme to make it more inclusive.
The Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has been designated as the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for setting up Common Facility Centres (CFCs) in industrial areas. Officials said the move is aimed at attracting investment, improving production quality, enhancing global competitiveness and generating employment opportunities.
The cabinet also approved an extension of the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Package (BIIPP) 2025 till June 30, 2026, along with amendments to BIIPP 2025 and BIIPP 2016.
A total of 19 proposals were cleared at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
