NEW DELHI: The announcement to establish a Makhana Board, along with substantial subsidies for its production, turned out to be a successful gamble for the NDA in the Bihar elections.By emphasising the benefits of this initiative, the NDA routed out the Opposition alliance INDIA in the Assembly seats of the ‘makhana’ growing belt, which includes Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Supaul, Samastipur, Purnia, Saharsa, Khagaria, and Supaul districts.The region is home to over five lakh families from the fishermen community, who are heavily involved in makhana production, and they overwhelmingly supported the NDA. According to the Bihar caste-based census of 2023, the Mallah community (fishermen/boatmen, also known as Nishad) constitutes 2.6% of Bihar’s population. Given that Bihar’s total population is approximately 13.07 crore (130.7 million), this translates to around 3.4 million people.Interestingly, the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), which represents the fishermen community and joined the opposition alliance INDIA, failed to garner their votes.The Centre has announced a setting up of National Makhana Board with a budget package of Rs 475 crore for the fiscal year 2025-26, although it has yet to be established. The state contributes to 90% of the total makhana production in the country. Additionally, the Bihar government has launched a seed scheme (2025–27) aimed at introducing improved makhana varieties with a 75% subsidy.
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