Part XII — Government Schemes and Current Affairs

Chapter 12: Major State Government Schemes and Recent Developments

12.1 The "Saat Nischay" (Seven Resolves) Framework

Bihar's government has organised many of its flagship welfare and infrastructure initiatives under the umbrella of "Saat Nischay" ("Seven Resolves"), launched initially in 2015 and followed by a second phase ("Saat Nischay Part 2") covering additional priority areas. Original resolves included commitments on: safe drinking water to every household (Har Ghar Nal ka Jal), electricity to every household, pucca roads/lanes to every locality (Har Ghar Bijli, Lagatar), toilets in every household (Ghar Tak Pakki Gali-Naliyan), student financial support (Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana and related schemes), and reservation-linked employment/opportunity measures for extremely backward classes and women.

12.2 Education and Youth-Focused Schemes

Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana provides financial incentives to girl students at various educational milestones, aimed at reducing dropout rates and encouraging higher education among girls. The Bihar Student Credit Card Yojana provides education loans (up to a specified ceiling) to students pursuing higher education, aimed at removing financial barriers to college and professional education. Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika Cycle Yojana provides bicycles to secondary school students (particularly girls) to improve school attendance by easing the commute in rural areas — a scheme widely credited with measurably improving girls' secondary school enrolment and attendance in Bihar.

12.3 Rural Development and Infrastructure Schemes

Har Ghar Nal ka Jal aims to provide piped drinking water to every rural household. Mukhyamantri Gramin Gully-Nali Yojana funds pucca lanes and drains in rural habitations. Rural road connectivity has been pursued through central schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in coordination with state-level road-building efforts, given Bihar's historically poor rural connectivity.

12.4 Social Welfare Schemes

Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana provides old-age pensions to elderly residents. Various caste-census-linked welfare measures have followed Bihar's much-discussed 2023 Caste Survey, one of the first comprehensive caste enumeration exercises conducted by any Indian state in recent decades, which fed into subsequent state policy decisions on reservation ceilings and targeted welfare allocation.

12.5 Prohibition Policy

Bihar implemented a complete statewide prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in 2016, framed as a public-health and women's-welfare measure (rural women's groups had been prominent advocates for prohibition, citing alcohol-linked domestic and economic harm). The policy remains one of Bihar's most distinctive and debated state-level interventions, cited in GK material both as a landmark social policy and as a subject of ongoing debate regarding enforcement challenges and revenue trade-offs.

12.6 Recent Political and Administrative Developments (as of August 2026)

Bihar underwent a significant political transition in early-to-mid 2026: long-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stepped down after being elected to the Rajya Sabha, and Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as Chief Minister in mid-April 2026. The state also saw a change of Governor, with Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) sworn in on 14 March 2026. Candidates preparing for exams in this cycle should treat these as the current reference facts while remaining alert to any further changes announced closer to their specific exam date.

12.7 Practice Set — Schemes and Current Affairs (20 MCQs)

1. Bihar's umbrella framework for several flagship welfare and infrastructure schemes is called:
   (a) Saat Nischay (Seven Resolves) (b) Ashta Pradhan (c) Panch Sutra (d) Das Lakshya
2. "Har Ghar Nal ka Jal" is a scheme aimed at providing:
   (a) Electricity to every household (b) Piped drinking water to every household (c) Pucca roads to every locality (d) Free bicycles to students
3. Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana primarily provides financial incentives to:
   (a) Elderly pensioners (b) Girl students at various educational milestones (c) Farmers for crop insurance (d) Industrial units for expansion
4. The Bihar Student Credit Card Yojana primarily provides:
   (a) Old-age pensions (b) Education loans for higher education (c) Free housing (d) Agricultural subsidies
5. The Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika Cycle Yojana provides bicycles to students primarily to:
   (a) Promote a sporting event (b) Improve school attendance by easing rural commutes (c) Support a manufacturing industry alone (d) Reduce traffic congestion in Patna
6. Bihar's complete statewide prohibition on alcohol was implemented in:
   (a) 2010 (b) 2016 (c) 2020 (d) 2024
7. Rural women's groups in Bihar were prominent advocates for which major policy?
   (a) Industrial deregulation (b) Alcohol prohibition (c) Urban housing reform (d) Currency reform
8. Bihar's much-discussed comprehensive caste enumeration exercise was conducted in:
   (a) 2011 (b) 2019 (c) 2023 (d) 2026
9. The 2023 Caste Survey in Bihar fed into subsequent state policy decisions on:
   (a) Reservation ceilings and targeted welfare allocation (b) Foreign trade policy (c) Currency exchange rates (d) International border demarcation
10. Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana primarily serves:
    (a) Girl students (b) Elderly residents, through old-age pensions (c) Industrial workers exclusively (d) Foreign investors
11. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), relevant to Bihar's rural connectivity efforts, is:
    (a) A purely state-level scheme with no central involvement (b) A central scheme coordinated with state-level road-building efforts (c) Exclusive to urban areas (d) A defence-sector scheme
12. As of August 2026, Bihar's Chief Minister is:
    (a) Nitish Kumar (b) Samrat Choudhary (c) Lalu Prasad Yadav (d) Tejashwi Yadav
13. Nitish Kumar stepped down as Chief Minister in 2026 after being elected to:
    (a) The Lok Sabha (b) The Rajya Sabha (c) The Bihar Vidhan Parishad only, remaining CM regardless (d) He did not step down
14. As of August 2026, Bihar's Governor is:
    (a) Phagu Chauhan (b) Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) (c) Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (d) Satya Pal Malik
15. Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as Bihar's Chief Minister in:
    (a) January 2026 (b) Mid-April 2026 (c) August 2026 (d) December 2025
16. "Saat Nischay" was originally launched in:
    (a) 2005 (b) 2010 (c) 2015 (d) 2020
17. Bihar's prohibition policy is frequently cited in GK material as involving a trade-off between public-health goals and:
    (a) Enforcement challenges and state revenue considerations (b) International diplomatic relations (c) Judicial appointments (d) Currency valuation
18. Which of the following is a rural infrastructure-focused scheme funding pucca lanes and drains?
    (a) Mukhyamantri Gramin Gully-Nali Yojana (b) Bihar Student Credit Card Yojana (c) Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana (d) Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana
19. "Saat Nischay Part 2" represents:
    (a) A cancellation of the original scheme (b) A second phase covering additional priority areas (c) A purely symbolic renaming with no new content (d) A scheme unrelated to the original Saat Nischay
20. Candidates preparing for Bihar state exams are advised to treat current officeholder facts as:
    (a) Permanently fixed and never subject to change (b) Current reference facts to be cross-checked against the latest notification closer to the exam date (c) Irrelevant to the exam (d) Only relevant for BPSC, not CSBC

Answer Key

1.(a)

2.(b)

3.(b)

4.(b)

5.(b)

6.(b)

7.(b)

8.(c)

9.(a)

10.(b)

11.(b)

12.(b)

13.(b)

14.(b)

15.(b)

16.(c)

17.(a)

18.(a)

19.(b) 20.(b)