Government of India approved fisheries projects worth ₹579.72 crore for Bihar under PMMSY

New Delhi: The Government of India has approved fisheries development projects worth ₹579.72 crore for Bihar under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with a Central share of ₹193.13 crore, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said the Bihar Government sanctioned ₹107.30 crore for fisheries projects across districts during the last three years (2023-24 to 2025-26), of which ₹73.59 crore has been utilised.

The projects approved under PMMSY include an Integrated Aqua Park, wholesale fish market, integrated development of reservoirs, fish brood bank, hatcheries, referral laboratories for quality testing and disease diagnosis, among other fisheries infrastructure.

To strengthen institutional support for the sector, the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) inaugurated its regional office in Patna on June 15, 2026. The office will provide technical support, capacity building and training programmes for fish farmers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the state.

The Minister also informed the House that the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) continues to support dairy development and indigenous cattle improvement in Bihar. Since the launch of the mission, over 64.87 lakh artificial inseminations have been carried out in the state, benefiting 29.16 lakh farmers.

The programme has also promoted the use of sex-sorted semen technology, with 10,122 artificial inseminations benefiting 9,020 farmers. Other interventions include the establishment of a modern semen station at Purnea, two in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) laboratories at Patna and Motihari, training of 5,433 Multi-Purpose Artificial Insemination Technicians in Rural India (MAITRIs), and sanctioning of two heifer rearing centres at Munger and Dumraon.

According to the Minister, the Government of India has released ₹79.29 crore to Bihar under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, with the entire amount utilised by the state.

The Government has also strengthened Bihar's dairy infrastructure under the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD). The state has created an additional seven lakh litres per day of milk chilling capacity, strengthened 21 dairy plant laboratories and provided 13,590 village-level milk quality testing equipment. To improve marketing infrastructure, 3,426 deep freezers and visi coolers have been supplied.

In addition, 11,834 Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS) have been established in Bihar over the last two years, while dairy processing units with a combined capacity of 7.55 lakh litres per day (LLPD) have been approved under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF).

The information was shared by the Minister in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.