From ₹50K to ₹65K: Bihar Hikes Salary for Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers; But Here's A Catch

Patna: In a big move ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections, the Bihar government on Tuesday approved a 30% hike in the salaries and allowances of individuals holding the rank of Minister of State and Deputy Minister, even though there are currently no such ministers in the state cabinet.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar , and announced by Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth.

Here’s What’s Changing

• Monthly salary: Increased from ₹50,000 to ₹65,000
• Local allowance: Hiked from ₹55,000 to ₹70,000
• Daily allowance: Increased from ₹3,000 to ₹3,500

Hospitality allowance

• For Minister of State rank: From ₹24,000 to ₹29,500
• For Deputy Minister rank: From ₹23,500 to ₹29,000

Though there are no Ministers of State or Deputy Ministers in the current Nitish Kumar cabinet, where all ministers hold cabinet rank, the hike will impact those holding equivalent positions, such as party whips, deputy chairpersons, and members of various state boards and commissions.

Big Push for Government Hiring: Over 26,000 Posts Approved

In one of the largest public sector hiring drives in recent times, the cabinet also gave its nod to the creation of more than 26,000 posts across departments, with a major focus on healthcare and education.

Key Approvals

Health Department

• Creation of three new directorates
• Public Health Directorate
• Health Services Directorate
• Medical Education Directorate
• 20,016 new posts approved for these directorates.

Urdu Directorate

• Approval for 3,306 translator posts to boost regional language outreach.

Education Sector

• Bihar Education Administration Cadre Rule-2025 cleared.
• A new cadre will oversee educational quality and monitoring.
• Separate posts to be created across all blocks in the state.