The Bihar cabinet on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) gave its nod to develop 300 ‘stand-alone’ private teacher education institutions (B.Ed.) operating in Bihar into multidisciplinary degree colleges.The decision will add another 300 additional degree colleges which will offer undergraduate programmes in Arts, Science, Commerce, and other disciplines along with teacher education (B.Ed.) and skill-based courses, Cabinet Secretariat Department’s Secretary Mohammad Sohail said in a post cabinet briefing.The decision was taken in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, and the guidelines of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), he added. The new academic programmes will be conducted in accordance with the standards and necessary approvals prescribed by the concerned university, UGC, NCTE, and the State government, Mr. Sohail said.The initiative will provide students with greater opportunities for higher education within their own district or nearby areas, strengthen access to higher education, and contribute to increasing the state’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), he added.Extension of SchemesIt also gave the higher education department’s proposal to extend the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme for another five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31, Mr. Sohail said, adding that ₹950 crore has been approved to be spent in the current financial year 2026-27.Stating 4.15 lakh students have been benefitted from the SCC scheme, he said this decision will provide students in the State with greater opportunities for higher education, strengthen access to higher education, and promote an increase in the State’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).A step towards connecting Bihar’s youth with new age employment opportunities, the cabinet also extended the period of ‘Kushal Yuva Programme’ from 2026-27 to 2030-31 under ‘Seven Nischay Part-3’.It approved ₹430.08 crore for imparting training to youth in future skills such as AI, drones, solar, networking, digital marketing, banking, telecom, foreign languages, and entrepreneurship, the Secretary said and added that it will directly create 6,436 employment opportunities and train 2,57,440 lakh youth annually.Financial Assistance In another decision, the cabinet also approved an estimated expenditure of ₹1,000 crore for a period of one year under “Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana”, Mr. Sohail said, adding that the State government would give ₹10,000 per kilowatt subject to a maximum of ₹20,000 through DBT as financial assistance to the residential consumers for installing rooftop solar panels.The State government’s financial assistance will be given in addition to the central government’s share, he added.It also decided to set up Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in four municipal corporations of Gaya Ji, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Biharsharif (Nalanda) for providing a sustainable solution for waste management by converting organic waste into a valuable renewable energy source, Mr. Sohail said.The government would give 10 acres of land for a period of 25 years to IOCL, HPCL, BPCL and GAIL for the purpose, he said adding that CBG plants process organic waste and convert it into a valuable energy resource, thereby improving waste management.Restriction liftedIn yet another decision, the cabinet also lifted the restriction imposed on the purchase, sale, and transfer of land in the notified Greenfield Satellite Cities following the final publication of the Development Plan, Mr. Sohail said.In addition, the Bihar Urban Development Authority will have the power to lift the restriction on the purchase, sale, and transfer of land after the publication of the draft Development Plan.The cabinet also approved the Youth, Employment and Skill Development Department’s proposal to amend the admission process for the State’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and to conduct admissions to 50% of the total sanctioned seats in private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs through the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB), Patna.A total of 11 decisions were taken at cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday (August 12, 2026).