Ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced a major increase in monthly pension entitlements under the ‘Bihar Patrakaar Samman Pension Scheme’ for all eligible journalists and their spouses.

Making the announcement on X, the Chief Minister said that the concerned department had been instructed to increase the monthly pension for all eligible journalists from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.

“I am happy to report that under the ‘Bihar Patrakaar Samman Pension Scheme’, the department has been directed to offer a monthly pension of Rs 15,000 as opposed to Rs 6,000 to all journalists who are eligible. Additionally, if journalists who are receiving a pension under the ‘Bihar Patrakaar Samman Pension Scheme’ die, orders have been issued to give their dependent spouse a pension of Rs 10,000 per month for life, instead of Rs 3,000,” Chief Minister Kumar announced on X.

The Chief Minister also underlined the importance of journalists in a democratic society, describing them as the fourth pillar of democracy and stressing their vital role in social development.

He said, “Journalists play a very important role in democracy. They are the fourth pillar of democracy and play a great role in social development. We were taking care of journalists’ facilities right from the beginning so that they could perform their journalism impartially and live with dignity after retirement.”

This announcement came only a few months before the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, which are expected to be held in October or November this year, although the Election Commission has not yet announced the dates.

Meanwhile, the political contest between the ruling NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan has intensified both in the state and at the national level over the issue of Special Intensive Revision of Bihar’s voter list.

The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar has triggered a major controversy, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that it will eliminate a large number of voters.

On Friday, the Election Commission of Bihar stated that 99.8 per cent of the state’s electors had been covered under the ongoing Special Integrated Revision process, according to the polling agency’s statement.

The Bihar Chief Electoral Officer confirmed that forms of over 7.23 crore electors had been received and processed, and their names would be included in the Draft Electoral Roll, which is scheduled for release on August 1, 2025, the statement added.