Bihar to pay influencers to promote schemes; Rs 10k for 1 lakh views

Patna: The Bihar government has rolled out a new incentive scheme that will pay empanelled social media creators to produce videos highlighting its welfare programmes, development projects, and achievements, effectively bringing influencers into the state's official publicity network.

Under amendments to the Bihar Social Media and Other Online Media Rules, 2026, eligible creators will receive Rs 10,000 for every one lakh views generated by a qualifying video. The payment will be capped at Rs 1 lakh per video, allowing creators to earn the maximum incentive once a video crosses 10 lakh views.

The decision was approved at a state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. The government hopes the scheme will expand the digital reach of its initiatives and make information about welfare schemes and development projects more accessible, particularly through platforms where younger audiences increasingly consume information.

However, the incentive will not be open to anyone posting videos about government programmes. Influencers, social media pages and channels must first be registered and empanelled with the Information and Public Relations Department (IPRD) in accordance with the prescribed guidelines.

The policy also introduces a verification mechanism to ensure that creators are rewarded for genuine public engagement rather than inflated numbers. Follower counts and engagement statistics will be periodically scrutinised, with checks intended to detect fake followers, bot-driven engagement and artificially generated views.

The move effectively ties government publicity spending to the online reach of selected creators, giving Bihar's social media ecosystem a direct financial incentive to amplify the state government's programmes and achievements.