A significant announcement has been made for students from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in Bihar. The state cabinet has approved a substantial budget of ₹2,271 crores to double the pre-matric scholarship amounts for these groups. Specifically, ₹519.64 crores has been allocated for revising scholarship rates for SC/ST students, while ₹1,751.56 crores will support OBC and EBC students.

This initiative is expected to provide considerable relief to economically disadvantaged children. During a press briefing, Arvind Chaudhary, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat Department, shared detailed insights about this decision.

Chaudhary explained that the cabinet has approved ₹519.64 crores for revising scholarship rates, which will see the amount for grades 1-4 increase to ₹1,200, for grades 5-6 to ₹2,400, for grades 7-10 to ₹3,600, and for residential students to ₹6,000 annually.

He noted that these revised rates are based on 2011 data and will benefit approximately 27 lakh students. The approved budget for OBC and EBC students will amount to ₹1,751.56 crores.

According to a statement from the Bihar government, there is a proposal to raise the monthly hostel subsidy for OBC and EBC students from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000.

Furthermore, the annual family income limit for receiving scholarships for OBC and EBC students has been increased from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh, with an approval of ₹117.98 crores for this adjustment.

The cabinet has also decided to cancel a previous project worth ₹14.52 crores and instead approved a revised project costing ₹87.81 crores to establish a music college in Buxar, named after Ustad Bismillah Khan.

During the briefing, Kundan Kumar, Secretary of the Industry Department, mentioned that the GCC Policy 2026 has been approved to position Bihar as a destination for multinational and Indian companies looking to establish Global Capability Centers.