Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Welcomes Union Budget, Praises Special Focus on State's Development

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed a positive reaction to the Union Budget, describing it as "positive and welcome." In his statement, Kumar highlighted several aspects of the budget that he believes will benefit Bihar and accelerate its development alongside the rest of the country.

The Chief Minister congratulated the Central Government for presenting what he termed a "balanced budget" and welcomed the decision to build infrastructure on a large scale across the country. Kumar particularly praised the NDA government for announcing special financial assistance for various development schemes in Bihar in the first budget of its third term.

He noted that the budget gives special attention to Bihar's needs, focusing on human resource development, basic infrastructure, road connectivity projects, power projects, airports, medical colleges, and sports structures.

The Chief Minister also pointed out that the budget includes special assistance for developing tourist places in Bihar and measures to protect the state from floods. He expressed gratitude for the special financial assistance announced for the Koshi-Mechi river linking project, river pollution reduction, and irrigation projects. Kumar specifically thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for these announcements, stating that they will help in the rapid progress and development of Bihar.

The CM also expressed happiness over the announcement of the Purvodaya Yojana for the development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.

During his interaction with journalists, Kumar took the opportunity to reiterate his long-standing demand for special state status for Bihar, dating back to 2010. He suggested that if granting special status is problematic, special assistance should be provided to accelerate Bihar's development.

The Chief Minister reflected on Bihar's condition before his government took power in November 2005, highlighting the progress made since then in areas such as road connectivity and education. He expressed optimism that the budget announcements will significantly contribute to Bihar's development and hoped that the Central Government would continue to keep Bihar's needs in mind for future development initiatives.

Overall, Kumar's reaction underscores a positive outlook on the budget's potential impact on Bihar's growth and development.