Kiran Devi, 58, who is leading her black goat to her house in Kafarpur village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, hears the men discussing politics and stops to offer her two excerpts on the subject. “Indira Gandhi showed the country that a woman can lead, but Nitish Kumar gave us the opportunity to lead,” she says, summing up the Bihar chief minister’s message in a sentence.
The goat is Ms Devi’s latest acquisition, a ₹10,000 purchase she received last month under the Nitish Kumar Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana government. Under this scheme, ₹10,000 each was donated to 1.2 million women between the ages of 18 and 60 who are associated with Jeevika, a Bihar rural livelihood project supported by the World Bank. So far, Rs 12,100 crore – about 4% of Bihar’s annual budget – has been transferred to the bank accounts of 1.21 crore beneficiaries. Of Bihar’s more than 7 million voters, about 3.5 million are women, meaning about a third of them benefit from the system.
Rozgar Yojana can be a game changer in terms of economic improvement for the beneficiaries. | Photo credit: Sobhana K. Nair
Ms. Devi is a Chouhan, an Extremely Backward Class (EBC) voter, and her village falls under the reserved Assembly constituency of Machdumpur. The last time Mr Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) held the seat was in 2010, when former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, then a member of the JD(U), won from there. This time the JD(U)’s ally in the ruling NDA, the Lok Janshakti Party, is contesting the seat and Ms. Devi is clear that her vote will go in her favor.
They change lives
When they saw her speech, other women also joined. Kaanti Devi, 48, her hand smeared with the cow dung she was stirring, was contributing to Mr Kumar’s appreciation for making it a safe movement for women. “Mela gaye, mithai khaye (I went to the fair, ate sweets),” she says, laughing as she adjusts the pallu on her head. On a serious note, she adds that she also bought goats. The women jump into a discussion about how much they expect to make from their new purchases by the end of the year, explaining that goats give birth twice a year. If well-behaved, they could earn their owners a decent amount of money.
The government has promised to award ₹2,00,000 to high-performing beneficiaries who can use the money as capital for their businesses. However, the criteria for evaluating these beneficiaries have not yet been specified.
Financial viability
According to a senior Bihar government official, the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana has been in the works for nearly six months and is the result of intense debate within the government. Several models have been studied, including the Maharashtra government’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, widely credited with the NDA’s latest victory in the state. Launched just before the June 2024 elections, this scheme offers eligible women ₹₹1,500 per month. However, it has recently come under adverse weather, which has caused a serious imbalance in the budget of the state of Maharashtra.
The government has promised to award ₹2,00,000 to high-performing beneficiaries who can use the money as capital for their businesses. | Photo credit: Sobhana K. Nair
“Both ideas were considered: monthly payments to the beneficiaries compared to a one-time payment. After study, it was decided that the latter model was more financially viable,” said a senior government official in Bihar.
Financially viable or not, the scheme is proving to be a game changer for women themselves. It also helps further build the caste-neutral constituency of women voters that Nitish Kumar has carved out for himself with his various programs aimed at women, from increasing reservations for them in panchayats to scholarships and financial aid for women students. For example, the Jeevika program put cash in their own 3+ hands for the first time for many women, giving them a say in decisions both inside and outside the home.
Expanding horizons
Chander Deep Das, 65, is sticking with whoever he says has a better chance of winning in the Kurhani Assembly seat in Muzaffarpur district, where it is a straight fight between incumbent BJP MLA Kedar Prasad Gupta and RJD’s Bablu Kushwaha. His wife Bina Rani is inches closer. “Nitish Kumar has given us so many facilities for all girls and boys,” he says, detailing the stationary scholarship the government provides to students.
She pauses for a moment to steal a glance at her husband, then continues. Jeevika, she says, allowed her to travel beyond the doorstep of her home. Now she has gone places she never thought she could. Was she in the state capital of Patna, about 70 km from her home? “Maybe I will,” he says with a smile. She bought a cow with the money provided by the government and added ₹25,000 from her own savings. “No cow, this is Oswal,” he adds, proudly posing next to his new purchase.
The opposition’s promise may be too late
In its manifesto released on Tuesday (October 28), the Mahagathbandhan also proposed to provide financial assistance to women under the Mai-Behin Maan Yojana. The opposition alliance has pledged ₹2,500 per month from December 1, amounting to ₹30,000 per year. It also promised permanent jobs for Jeevika community mobilizers. However, the announcement comes a bit late in the campaign and may be hard to compete with ₹10,000 which has already reached a third of voters in the state.
Many women complain that they have been left out. Interestingly, however, the women do not blame the chief minister for their omission. “Modi jaane kyun nahi diya,” says Rekha Devi, a Dalat voter in Gaya district’s Belaganj Assembly constituency. Her anger is directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who released the payment for the first batch of women on September 26. There is also speculation that he will have to return the amount to the government with interest.
In Darbhanga, 35-year-old Sarita Yadav scoffs at ₹10,000. She runs a small stall from her home selling samosas and chowmein and used the money to buy supplies for her stall. “The value of ₹10,000 ka koyi hai aaj ke time main? (Is there any value of ₹10,000 these days)?” she asks. Her daughter Kanchan, who studies in class 12, stands nearby, smiling quietly. Once her mother leaves, she speaks. “I will vote for Nitish, in the next election, when I am eligible to vote. After all, he gave us school bags, uniform, stationery for studies,” he says, his voice only a grunt.
Published – 30 Oct 2025 22:28 IST
