Bihar govt to revisit caste survey data to help poor families
The Bihar government will speed up the disbursal of a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each it had promised to 9.4 million poor families it identified through a survey conducted in 2023, state industries minister Nitish Mishra said. The government will also now scan the data again to filter the families who would require financial assistance under this scheme, since there could be families that are receiving benefits under several other schemes, the minister told ET.The caste and socio-economic survey conducted in 2023 had found that more than a third, or 9.4 million, of the state's families earned less than Rs 6,000 a month. On November 7, 2023, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced in the assembly that the state government would provide Rs 2 lakh each to these families in three instalments. The state cabinet approved the proposal later that month, but its implementation has been slow with only 100,000 families so far getting the assistance in part or full.
Slow pace
In fiscal 2023-24, the state government initiated a scheme, Bihar Laghu Udyami Yojana, under which it said the poor families would be given Rs 2 lakh to start a new business or help in their existing ventures. The state government listed 61 kinds of businesses in which these families could seek assistance. In the financial year 2023-24, the government approved Rs 250 crore for the scheme. It increased the allocation four times to Rs 1,000 crore in the last fiscal year. Around 202,000 applications came for assistance under the scheme in the first year. The government randomly selected 50,000 families and paid them the first instalment of Rs 50,000. In the year 2024-25, the government received around a quarter million applications and it provided assistance to another 50,000 randomly selected families. In the last two financial years, the state has been able to give assistance to 100,000 families out of the planned 9.4 million.
Industries minister Mishra told ET that out of these families, some have got the second instalment of Rs 1 lakh while some have also got the third instalment of Rs 50,000. But with this pace, it may take years for the government to entirely implement the scheme. "This question may arise in the minds of people. In February this year, a meeting was conducted with the chief secretary of the state where we discussed the ideas for speedy implementation of the scheme," Mishra said.In the current fiscal year, the government targets to provide assistance to at least 60,000 families. "If needed, the budget allocation will be increased," Mishra said.Even after this, the total number of beneficiaries left to get assistance will be huge.Mishra assured that the state government was committed to fulfil the promise made by the chief minister.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
‘We don't have any compulsion to go for IPO tomorrow'
Bengaluru-based media technology company Amagi, which has initiated an initial public offering (IPO) process recently, is now expanding into Japan, Australia, Latin America, France and Germany. In an interaction with Uma Kannan, Baskar Subramanian, CEO & Co-Founder of Amagi, says they are seeing a tremendous opportunity in front of them for the next 10 years where they can build extremely large media tech company in the world and that they don't have any compulsion to go public tomorrow. The company's annual revenue in FY24 stood at Rs 942 crore. Edited excerpts: You are a media SaaS unicorn and have been in the business for over 15 years now. What does the market look like? Our customers are TV channels, content creators, live producers, sports news, and anybody who is creating content in the mid-tier to large enterprises. We don't work with the creator economy and influencer economy today; we don't have any product portfolio for it, but we work with the larger mid to enterprise sort of customers. Fundamentally, the world is becoming streaming, and all of us are only watching on IP, internet devices, be it on our phone or connected television, what we call smart TV in India. This has changed things for our customers. One, it's fragmentation of viewership. In the early days of cable, you could go to one channel and always watch the content. Now there are so many places where people are consuming content, be it YouTube, Netflix, Prime, social platforms, connected TV devices to everywhere else and this is becoming a big challenge for the broadcasters and TV channels. This is very similar to what happened in the retail industry. Suddenly people are buying in supermarkets, e-commerce stores and now quick commerce. TV is now connected in every home in India. How are you looking at the Indian market? In India, we have clients, and the country has obviously dramatically changed, given 5G connections. Here we work with Samsung, whose many channels are coming to Samsung TV Plus with the back-end being Amagi. We work with the likes of Republic TV, Times Now and Zee television and provide OTT content. India is a growing market and we have now started to expand but the country is only very close to about a percentage (1%) of our revenue. So, we continue to have a big focus on the international markets with 70% revenue coming from the US. However, we are seeing India as a growing market and it will start to become bigger and bigger for us as we go forward. What are the market opportunities that you are seeing, and whether you have competitors in India as well as outside? We started in the US, expanded into Europe, and then in Asia, we started in Singapore. We are now expanding into Japan, Australia, Latin America, France, and Germany. It's a global market and we are seeing a tremendous opportunity in front of us for the next 10 years where we can build an extremely large, world-class media tech company in the world. Amagi's competition is all traditional hardware players. And we are the only company in the world that talks about a glass-to-glass complete end solution. It is reported that you are looking to raise Rs 3,200 crore through a public listing. Are you planning to hit an IPO soon? If we go for an IPO, we'll go in India. Going through the process, understanding and evaluating markets are very different. We don't know when we do it because timing matters in this industry. As a company, we don't have any compulsion to go for an IPO tomorrow. We are a profitable company, we have money in the bank and we have investors who came in 2022. So, the idea is that eventually we will have to be a public company. If the market is really good, then maybe by the end of the year (we will go for the IPO), or else next year.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Did you know: THIS Bollywood star purchased Vijay Mallya's Goa pad; paid Rs 73 crore for the luxury mansion
Vijay Mallya was back in the news this past week after his team RCB picked up the IPL trophy this season. The big win coupled with nostalgia swirling, attention once again turned to the high-profile assets he once owned, particularly the villa where Goa's most opulent parties unfolded. Among the many reports that resurfaced on the internet was the sale of his sprawling mansion, the iconic Kingfisher Villa in Goa. After the businessman landed into trouble, his plush pad found a new owner in Bollywood actor and entrepreneur Sachiin Joshi . Renamed King's Mansion, the 12,350 sq. ft. sea-facing estate in Candolim was sold in 2017 for Rs 73.01 crore. Interestingly, this paycheque was significantly lower than its original reserve price of over Rs 90 crore. The off-market sale was reportedly finalised through a private treaty, sources confirmed to PTI. This was reportedly acquired after multiple failed auction attempts by banks trying to recover dues from the businessman. 'Secured creditors have the right to go for a private treaty if the auction route fails,' a person familiar with the matter told PTI. Sprawled across a lush three-acre plot, the estate includes landscaped gardens, open-air dance floors, artificial ponds, and private swimming pools. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Windows Users Don't Forget To Do This Before Sunday Read More Undo 'Today is the day I open the gates to the world,' Joshi said in a statement, officially unveiling the property under its new name - King's Mansion. 'The brand connection from King's Beer and the inherent grandeur of the property made the choice clear.' Joshi, who rose to prominence through films like Azaan and Jackpot, is also a businessman with interests in alcohol, hospitality, wellness, and entertainment. His business ventures include King's Beer, a local favourite in Goa—creating a fitting brand extension in the rechristened mansion. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
B'luru stampede: Somanna slams govt, defends suspended top cop
Mysuru: Union minister of state for railways V Somanna on Sunday said even an entire year's state budget cannot compensate for the tragic loss of lives in the stampede at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium. His remarks came in response to questions from the media regarding the Karnataka govt's revised compensation of Rs 25 lakh per victim, up from the initial Rs 10 lakh. "Even the amount of one full year's state budget cannot compensate for the lives lost in the stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium," Somanna said. "Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached the IPL finals after 18 years, and the authorities should have planned accordingly. Unfortunately, the chief minister mishandled the situation. Perhaps, he acted on poor advice from his associates," he added. The minister also criticised the suspension of Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, calling it unjust. "I've known the work of IPS officer Dayananda for many years. His suspension is unfair, especially when he had no direct role in the stampede. It was a good decision to appoint him as commissioner, and he should be reinstated immediately. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Promoções imperdíveis de voos baratos Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo Govt has gone off track, and they must be held accountable for this tragedy," he added. Reflecting on his past association with CM Siddaramaiah, Somanna expressed disappointment over what he described as a shift in leadership style. "I was in the Congress and was very close to Siddaramaiah. I knew him well — he was not like this. Power seems to have changed him. In the Congress party, no other leader in the country has been given the kind of freedom Siddaramaiah enjoys. It looks like he has changed just to survive as chief minister. This is not the Siddaramaiah I once knew," he said. Somanna also spoke about his personal transformation after becoming a Union minister. "In the past year, after becoming minister of railways and observing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's daily routine and work ethic, I've changed myself," he said. "The state govt should take note of how the Prime Minister functions. They should visit Delhi and see his discipline and dedication first hand. I'm deeply impressed by Modi's style of governance," he added.
