Welcome to the Ujiyari Bihar Current Affairs notes for 1 August 2026, prepared for BPSC and other State PCS aspirants. Today’s edition covers the state Cabinet’s Rs 23,698-crore Fourth Agriculture Roadmap, the Rs 9,748-crore irrigation allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, and the employment guarantee embedded in the Bihar Sports Policy 2026. Each item is paired with a Prelims fact table and a Mains angle, followed by five practice MCQs.
1. Bihar Approves Rs 23,698 Crore for the Fourth Agriculture Roadmap
Why in News: The Bihar Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, approved Rs 23,698 crore for implementation of the state’s Fourth Agriculture Roadmap, as part of a 24-item agenda cleared at the Cabinet meeting of 29 July 2026.
Background: Bihar’s Agriculture Roadmap is a distinctive state planning instrument: rather than funding agriculture through annual departmental budgets alone, the state has since 2008 adopted successive multi-year roadmaps that coordinate spending across agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, cooperatives, irrigation and allied departments under a single framework with defined targets. The First Roadmap (2008-12) focused on foodgrain productivity, and successive editions have progressively broadened into horticulture, dairy, fisheries and farm mechanisation. The Fourth Roadmap, covering 2023-28 and launched by President Droupadi Murmu in October 2023, continues this convergence approach, with the Rs 23,698 crore allocation intended to fund productivity improvement alongside diversification beyond the traditional paddy-wheat cycle. The roadmap model is frequently cited as a state-level innovation in agricultural planning because it commits multi-year funding and forces inter-departmental coordination that annual budgeting typically does not.
Bihar Relevance:
- Prelims: Allocation Rs 23,698 crore; instrument is the Fourth Agriculture Roadmap (2023-28), launched by President Droupadi Murmu in October 2023; Cabinet meeting 29 July 2026 with a 24-item agenda, chaired by CM Samrat Choudhary; roadmap approach in Bihar dates to 2008.
- Mains: Examine the Agriculture Roadmap as a state-level planning instrument, and whether multi-year convergence frameworks deliver better agricultural outcomes than annual departmental budgeting.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Allocation | Rs 23,698 crore |
| Instrument | Fourth Agriculture Roadmap |
| Cabinet date | 29 July 2026, a 24-item agenda |
| Cabinet chaired by | CM Samrat Choudhary |
| Roadmap model introduced | 2008 (First Agriculture Roadmap); Fourth Roadmap covers 2023-28 |
| Approach | Multi-year, multi-departmental convergence framework |
2. Rs 9,748 Crore Approved Under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
Why in News: The Bihar Cabinet approved Rs 9,748 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), a centrally sponsored scheme, to strengthen irrigation infrastructure across the state.
Background: PMKSY, administered by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, now comprises three components: the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) for completing pending major and medium irrigation projects, Har Khet Ko Pani (water to every field) for extending irrigation access, and the Watershed Development Component. Note that the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component, which funds micro-irrigation, sat under PMKSY only from 2015-16 to 2021-22 and has since 2022-23 been implemented under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, a distinction older study material frequently gets wrong. For Bihar, irrigation investment carries a particular significance: the state has substantial surface and groundwater availability relative to many Indian states, but historically uneven irrigation coverage, with flood-prone northern districts and comparatively drought-exposed southern ones facing very different water-management problems. As a centrally sponsored scheme, PMKSY involves cost-sharing between the Centre and the state, distinguishing it from Central Sector Schemes that are fully Union-funded.
Bihar Relevance:
- Prelims: Allocation Rs 9,748 crore; scheme is the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti; a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with Centre-state cost sharing; current components are AIBP, Har Khet Ko Pani and the Watershed Development Component; Per Drop More Crop moved to RKVY in 2022-23.
- Mains: Discuss why irrigation investment in Bihar must address two distinct water problems, flood management in the north and water availability in the south, within a single scheme framework.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Allocation | Rs 9,748 crore |
| Scheme | Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) |
| Scheme type | Centrally Sponsored Scheme (Centre-state cost sharing) |
| Administering ministry | Jal Shakti |
| Current components | AIBP; Har Khet Ko Pani; Watershed Development Component |
| Per Drop More Crop (micro-irrigation) | Moved from PMKSY to RKVY in 2022-23 |
3. Sports Policy 2026: Government Jobs for Medal Winners
Why in News: The Bihar Sports Policy 2026, approved by the state Cabinet, includes a “Win a Medal, Get a Job” provision offering government employment to medal-winning athletes.
Background: The provision links sporting achievement directly to public employment, an approach several Indian states and central departments have adopted to address a structural problem in Indian sport: the absence of a viable career path for athletes outside a very small elite tier. Without an income floor, talented athletes routinely exit competitive sport in their late teens or early twenties for education or employment, which truncates the development pipeline precisely at the age when international-standard performance would begin to emerge. Employment guarantees address this by making sustained training economically survivable. The policy complements the state’s separately announced Mashal talent-identification programme, which screens some 60 lakh students across roughly 40,000 government schools through tiered trials, and a three-tier scholarship structure: Utkarsh (Rs 20 lakh, international achievers), Saksham (Rs 5 lakh, national) and Prerna (Rs 3 lakh, state level).
Bihar Relevance:
- Prelims: Policy name Bihar Sports Policy 2026; the employment provision is “Win a Medal, Get a Job”; complements the Mashal talent-hunt programme (about 60 lakh students, roughly 40,000 government schools); scholarship tiers are Utkarsh (Rs 20 lakh, international), Saksham (Rs 5 lakh, national) and Prerna (Rs 3 lakh, state).
- Mains: Examine whether linking government employment to sporting achievement addresses the structural constraint on India’s athlete development pipeline, and what risks such a linkage carries.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Policy | Bihar Sports Policy 2026 |
| Key employment provision | “Win a Medal, Get a Job” |
| Related programme | Mashal talent-identification scheme |
| Scholarship tiers | Utkarsh Rs 20 lakh (international), Saksham Rs 5 lakh (national), Prerna Rs 3 lakh (state) |
| Underlying problem addressed | Absence of a viable career path causing early athlete attrition |
Practice MCQs
1. What allocation did the Bihar Cabinet approve for the Fourth Agriculture Roadmap?
a) Rs 9,748 crore b) Rs 15,200 crore c) Rs 23,698 crore d) Rs 31,450 crore
Answer: c
Explanation: The Cabinet approved Rs 23,698 crore for the Fourth Agriculture Roadmap (2023-28) at its 29 July 2026 meeting. Bihar’s Agriculture Roadmap model, introduced in 2008, coordinates multi-year spending across agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, cooperatives and irrigation departments under a single convergence framework rather than through annual departmental budgets alone.
2. The Rs 9,748 crore approved by the Bihar Cabinet for irrigation infrastructure falls under which scheme?
a) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana b) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana c) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi d) Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
Answer: a
Explanation: The Rs 9,748 crore allocation is under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme involving Centre-state cost sharing, administered by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and now comprising AIBP, Har Khet Ko Pani and the Watershed Development Component.
3. Which of the following correctly describes PMKSY’s scheme classification?
a) A Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Union government b) A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, involving Centre-state cost sharing c) A purely state scheme with no central involvement d) An externally aided project funded by a multilateral bank
Answer: b
Explanation: PMKSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, meaning implementation costs are shared between the Union government and the states, distinguishing it from Central Sector Schemes such as Samudra Manthan which are fully funded by the Union government.
4. The “Win a Medal, Get a Job” provision is part of which Bihar policy?
a) Bihar Skill Development Policy 2026 b) Bihar Sports Policy 2026 c) Bihar Youth Employment Mission d) Bihar Education Policy 2026
Answer: b
Explanation: The “Win a Medal, Get a Job” provision, offering government employment to medal-winning athletes, is part of the Bihar Sports Policy 2026, which also complements the state’s Mashal talent-identification programme and a three-tier scholarship structure for international, national and state-level achievers.
5. In which year did Bihar introduce its Agriculture Roadmap planning model?
a) 2005 b) 2008 c) 2014 d) 2020
Answer: b
Explanation: Bihar introduced the Agriculture Roadmap model in 2008, with the First Roadmap (2008-12) focused principally on foodgrain productivity; successive editions broadened the framework into horticulture, dairy, fisheries and farm mechanisation, with the Fourth Roadmap now funded at Rs 23,698 crore.
