Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday inaugurated the Mahila Samvad initiative via video conferencing from ‘Sankalp’ at 1, Aney Marg in Patna, flagging off an extensive state-wide outreach programme focused on women’s empowerment and grassroots governance.
During the launch, the Chief Minister released a personal letter addressed to “mothers, sisters and daughters” of Bihar, underlining the government’s commitment to women’s welfare. The campaign, which will span approximately 70,000 events across the state over the next two months, aims to engage over two crore women—particularly in rural areas—in dialogue around government schemes, local challenges, and future aspirations.
The programme is designed to serve a dual purpose: raising awareness among women about existing welfare schemes, while also collecting their suggestions and grievances to inform future policymaking. Women will have the opportunity to voice issues specific to their villages and tolas, prioritise them, and receive timely redressal through coordination among block, district and departmental officials.
“This initiative will ensure that women’s voices are not just heard but actively shape the next generation of government schemes,” said CM Nitish during the launch.
To support the campaign, around 600 branded Mahila Samvad awareness vehicles equipped with large-screen TVs have been deployed. These vehicles will screen films on the government’s initiatives for women and travel between villages to attract public attention. The data and suggestions gathered during the events will be compiled at the block level and forwarded to district units, which will then direct actionable inputs to either the concerned department or state-level policymakers.
The initiative follows instructions issued during the Chief Minister’s Pragati Yatra, where he had directed senior officials to visit every village to assess the implementation of welfare schemes. Mahila Samvad serves as a continuation of that directive, now focused squarely on women-centric development.
At the launch event, Rural Development Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh presented a detailed overview of the initiative to the Chief Minister and screened a short film on Mahila Samvad. CM Nitish was welcomed with the symbolic gift of a green plant.
Senior government officials and ministers including Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar, and several senior bureaucrats were present. District Magistrates from across the state joined the event through video conferencing.
