Sun Feb 02 04:42:28 UTC 2025: ## Union Budget Showers Bihar with Promises Ahead of Elections

**New Delhi/Patna, February 2, 2025** – The Union Budget presented on Saturday allocated significant funds to Bihar, a state heading to elections later this year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, dressed in a Madhubani saree, announced a series of projects aimed at boosting the state’s infrastructure and economy. These announcements have been met with contrasting reactions, with the ruling NDA allies praising the budget, while opposition parties criticized it as mere rhetoric.

Key allocations include ₹11,500 crore for the Western Koshi Canal project, benefiting over 50,000 hectares of farmland. A new Makhana Board will support foxnut farmers, primarily from extremely backward classes, capitalizing on the region’s GI-tagged Mithila Makhana production. The budget also promises greenfield airports in addition to expanding Patna airport and the Bihta airport, although specific locations were not revealed. Further investments are planned, with expedited external assistance from multilateral development banks.

Under the Purvodaya initiative, a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Management will be established in Bihar. Upgrades to the IIT Patna and development of the Vishnupad and Mahabodhi temple corridor, along with Nalanda’s tourist infrastructure and university revival, are also promised.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lauded the budget’s “positive and progressive” nature, while BJP ally Chirag Paswan attributed the development to the NDA’s “double engine” government. However, the RJD, led by Tejashwi Yadav, dismissed the announcements as “jumlabaazi” (claptrap), criticizing the lack of a special package for the state. Similar criticism came from the Congress and Trinamool Congress, who questioned the disproportionate focus on Bihar while neglecting other states.

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