In keeping with his poll promise, Nitish Kumar’s government approved Tuesday a proposal to provide a free coronavirus vaccine to the entire state population. The decision was made at the first cabinet meeting.
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that Bihar would receive free vaccines against Covid-19 during state elections.
The sources said the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, ordered the health department to work out modalities to inoculate all state residents against the coronavirus.
“The modalities will be worked on in the coming days. In principle, a decision has been made for free vaccination in the state. In the first round, health workers can receive the doses followed by people over 60 and then 50. There will be consultations and a detailed report on the vaccination campaign will soon be prepared, ”said a senior government official aware of the developments. .
Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad said: “We have decided to bring free inoculation of Covid-19 vaccines to all residents of the state as it was one of the main promises of the BJP and also the NDA. Our decision is a great gift to the people of the state after the formation of the government. We believe that Bihar’s greatest strength is its human resources and we want them to be protected against the deadly disease as the world fights the pandemic. ”
Deputy CM said that the Covid vaccines will be administered once they are approved and available on the market.
Former CM MP and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said: “The decision of the state cabinet to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to the entire population of Bihar is a welcome decision. I feel like other states should emulate it. The BJP in its manifesto had promised to provide free vaccines knowing full well that in Bihar only a small part of the population could afford them at market prices. Once the vaccines arrive, front-line workers, police personnel and those over 50 will receive the doses gradually, ”he said.
The cabinet also decided to create 20 lakhs of jobs in the government and non-government sector over the next five years and also link the Hindi language with technical education, as well as build Ashray posts in each city for the elderly.
The state cabinet approved the implementation of all programs under Atma Nirbhar Bihar and Saath Nischai (Seven resolves) -2 for the next five years (2020-2025) in addition to approving a further 14 agendas, according to a press release issued by the government.
Other important decisions that were made were the improvement of the incentive for single girls who passed the intermediate level from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, while for married / single girls who finished graduation, the incentive was raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 25,000 for higher education.
Young people interested in starting a business will be granted loans of Rs 5 lakh at one percent interest plus a subsidy of 50% on the cost of the project up to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh. There will be a center of excellence open in all the ITI (Industrial Training Institute) and Polytechnics for the higher education of students to adapt to the employment needs in the technical sector.
Seven resolves that part 11 will focus on further improving infrastructure and facilities in the health, education, agriculture and other sectors, according to a statement from the cabinet department.
By the way, the decision to create 20 lakh jobs in the government and non-government sector is another ambitious program.
Officials said the chief secretary would convene a meeting of all department heads on Wednesday to discuss job creation modalities for young people to address the issue of unemployment, which was one of the main polling agendas during the elections. Recent The opposition RJD had joined his electoral agenda by promising 10 lakhs of government jobs, if he voted for power.
“There will be job creation in the government and also incentives for the private sector to create more jobs in the state. The matter will be discussed and a report will be prepared soon, ”said another official.
Among the other highlights of the cabinet decisions were the opening of mega skill centers in each district, tool room in each division, sports university in Rajgir, free medical treatment for children who have a hole in the heart under the ” Child Heart Scheme “and the formation of new department of skills development and entrepreneurship.
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