Patna: The state cabinet on Wednesday approved the Bihar MSME Policy (2026), which aims to create one crore entrepreneurial families and one crore direct and indirect jobs over the next five years to strengthen the state’s economic base.Chief minister Samrat Choudhary had announced the policy earlier. The cabinet approved its detailed framework, which provides for easier access to finance for entrepreneurs and seeks to raise Bihar’s credit-deposit (CD) ratio to 75% from the current level of slightly over 60%.The policy’s motto is ‘Ek crore udyami parivar, sashakt Bihar ka aadhar’ (one crore entrepreneurial families, the foundation of a strong Bihar), cabinet secretariat department additional chief secretary Arwind Kumar Choudhary said.The policy identifies 10 pillars of economic activity, including promotion of the informal economy, skill upgradation, cluster-based development, access to the MSME corpus fund and markets, emerging sectors, cooperatives, technology and environmental sustainability. An MSME centre will be set up in each of Bihar’s 38 districts. The policy also provides for an MSME corpus and growth fund to improve access to finance.The cabinet, chaired by Samrat, also approved a water resources department proposal to sign an MoU with the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, to delineate floodplain zones along the Ganga’s major tributaries in Bihar, including the Kosi, Gandak and Sone. It sanctioned Rs 1.99 crore for the study.Another water resources department proposal for an emergency plan to assess the condition and safety of identified embankments across the state was also approved. The work, costing Rs 8.32 crore, must be completed within eight months of its commencement.The plan includes preparing possible inundation maps through dam-break analysis to assess the impact of an embankment breach, and drawing up an emergency action plan for each embankment. These plans will provide for coordination between district administrations and disaster management agencies. An operation and maintenance manual will also be prepared.The cabinet approved the expansion of the Sonepur project area to accommodate several proposed national and state-level projects. The existing mega Sonepur plan includes a greenfield satellite township, an international greenfield airport, a film city, educational institutions and other development projects.It also approved lifting the ban on the sale, purchase and transfer of land within the project areas of 11 proposed satellite townships. Once the township development plans are notified, construction, land development and land use will be governed by the respective plans.The cabinet approved a 30-year lease of 1,000 square metres of land at Saharsa airport to G R D Air Academy Private Limited for a flight training organisation and related activities.It also sanctioned Rs 43.50 crore under the viability gap funding (VGF) scheme to promote the UDAN regional connectivity scheme, as provided for in an MoU between the Centre and the state government. The funds, comprising central and state contributions, are paid to aviation companies operating flights under the scheme.
