Patna: The Bihar government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank to extend corporate banking benefits to 9,817 Vikas Mitras working under the state’s Mahadalit Vikas Mission.
The agreement was formalised at a ceremony in Patna on Monday, chaired by Janak Ram, Bihar’s minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare. Senior government officials, bank representatives and district welfare officers were in attendance.
Under the corporate package, Vikas Mitras – field workers responsible for delivering government welfare schemes to marginalised Dalit and tribal communities – will gain access to a range of facilities, including group life and accident insurance, health cover, educational support for children in the event of a parent’s death, and financial assistance for daughters’ marriages.
Calling the initiative a “historic step”, Ram credited chief minister Nitish Kumar for prioritising the welfare of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families. “Providing the benefit of the corporate package will boost the morale of Vikas Mitras, and they will work with double enthusiasm,” he said. He also thanked deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary and assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha for their support.
The state welfare department has directed that camps be held across all blocks on September 27 to ensure that every Vikas Mitra is enrolled under the new scheme.
