Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday launched three initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s safety, higher education and economic independence in the state, ahead of Raksha Bandhan.

The schemes were launched at an event at Gyan Bhawan in Patna. They include 4,700 bicycles and two-wheelers for women police personnel under the Abhaya Brigade, the Bihar Ki Beti Startup Challenge Yojana and the Chief Minister Balika PhD Fellowship.

Under the safety initiative, the 4,700 vehicles will be used by women police personnel for patrolling and responding to complaints involving women and girls. Choudhary said Bihar has around 40,000 women police personnel, which he described as the highest number among states. The government also said the response time under its emergency service, 112, has been brought below 10 minutes, with efforts underway to reduce it further to five to seven minutes.

The Chief Minister Balika PhD Fellowship will support women pursuing doctoral research. Around 1,000 female research scholars will receive a monthly fellowship of Rs 10,000 for four years, according to details released at the launch.

The Bihar Ki Beti Startup Challenge Yojana will provide financial support to selected women entrepreneurs. Around 2,100 women have been selected to receive seed funding ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh to start or expand businesses and support grassroots innovations.

The government also linked the new measures to its wider focus on women's livelihoods. Choudhary said women associated with Jeevika contribute significantly to Bihar's economy, with 43 lakh Jeevika Didis having become Lakhpati Didis. He said the state aims to bring another one crore women into this category in the coming years.

The Chief Minister also highlighted women's representation in local governance. He said the state's 50% reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies has resulted in women accounting for 59% of elected representatives.