Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
From Neeraj Kumar
Patna: After the formation of the NDA government in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has created three new departments—Youth, Employment and Skill Development; Higher Education; and Civil Aviation. The Cabinet has approved the move, and the Chief Minister has now allocated ministerial responsibilities for these departments.
Nitish Kumar has retained charge of the Civil Aviation Department himself. Labour Resources Minister Sanjay Singh Tiger has been given charge of the Youth, Employment and Skill Development Department, while Education Minister Sunil Kumar has been entrusted with the Higher Education Department. The Cabinet Secretariat Department has issued an official notification detailing the portfolio allocation.
With this reshuffle, JDU quota minister Sunil Kumar now holds three departments. In addition to Education, he has already been overseeing the Science, Technology and Technical Education Department, and has now been assigned Higher Education as well.
From the BJP quota, Sanjay Singh Tiger now handles two departments. He was earlier in charge of the Labour Resources Department, which was recently renamed the Labour Resources and Migrant Workers’ Welfare Department. He has now also been given responsibility for Youth, Employment and Skill Development.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar already holds charge of the General Administration, Cabinet Secretariat, Vigilance and Election departments. The addition of Civil Aviation takes his portfolio count further. Notably, for the first time in 20 years, the Home Department has been handed over to the BJP, with Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary holding the charge.
The three new departments have been created with a focus on fulfilling Nitish Kumar’s promise of one crore jobs and employment opportunities. Secretaries and several senior officers have already been posted in all three departments, and the Cabinet Secretariat has earlier issued notifications outlining their roles and responsibilities.
Following the formation of the NDA government under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, the Chief Minister and 26 ministers took oath. As per the strength of the Assembly, Bihar can have up to 36 ministers, leaving nine ministerial posts currently vacant.
In the present Council of Ministers, apart from the Chief Minister, eight ministers are from the JDU quota and 14 from the BJP. With the creation of the three new departments, the total number of departments in Bihar has increased from 45 to 48, with several ministers holding charge of more than one department.
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