New Delhi: Social media is the new way of promoting one’s work and this applies to the government as well, with the Bihar government now realising it fully
and implementing schemes around it. As part of such an initiative, the Bihar Cabinet has approved a new incentive scheme under which empanelled social media creators can receive Rs 10,000 for every one lakh views generated by eligible videos promoting state government schemes, programmes and achievements. The maximum payout for a single video has been capped at Rs 1 lakh.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday. It is part of amendments to the Bihar Social Media and Other Online Media Rules, 2026, aimed at expanding the government’s digital outreach through influencers and online content creators.
How will this work?
Under the revised rules, a qualifying video that crosses one lakh views can fetch up to Rs 10,000. The incentive rises with viewership, with a video reaching 10 lakh views eligible for up to Rs 1 lakh. However, even if a video gets more than 10 lakh views, the payment will remain capped at Rs 1 lakh.
The payment will not be available automatically to anyone who posts a video about a Bihar government scheme. Creators, social media pages and channels will have to be registered and empanelled with the state’s Information and Public Relations Department (IPRD). Content will also have to meet government-prescribed conditions relating to eligibility and verification.
The rules provide for verification of views and periodic checks of followers and engagement figures. This is intended to prevent the use of fake followers, bots or artificially generated views to claim incentives. The IPRD is expected to issue a detailed notification explaining the implementation of the scheme.
New era of promotion
The move reflects the government’s attempt to use social media platforms and popular creators to communicate information about welfare schemes, development projects and other government initiatives to a wider audience. Bihar already has a mechanism for empanelling individual social media operators and registered companies under its online media policy.
The announcement has also triggered discussion over the use of public money to incentivise promotional content about government programmes. The government, however, looks to frame this initiative as part of its broader digital communication and public-awareness strategy.
