Patna, Mangal Pandey, upon resuming charge as Bihar’s Health Minister on Tuesday, announced that the state government will shortly initiate recruitment for more than 33,000 vacant positions in the health department, in one of the largest single hiring pushes in the sector in recent years.
Speaking immediately after taking charge, Mr Pandey said the appointment process for approximately 26,000 regular posts is already in its final stages and will be completed expeditiously. In addition, around 7,600 contractual positions under the National Health Mission (NHM) will also be filled in the near future, taking the total new hires past the 33,000 mark.
The minister further stated that three new government medical colleges – in Vaishali, Bhojpur and Siwan districts – are on track for completion next year, expanding tertiary-care infrastructure in underserved regions.
Mr Pandey, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former state health minister during the 2017–20 and 2020–22 NDA governments, returned to the portfolio after the party’s strong performance in the November 2025 assembly elections. He was allocated the health and law departments in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s new cabinet, which was sworn in on 20 November.
The recruitment announcement comes against the backdrop of persistent staffing shortages in Bihar’s public health system, which have long constrained service delivery in the state. The proposed hires are expected to bolster primary and secondary healthcare facilities, particularly in rural areas.
Market and analyst reaction to the development has been muted so far, with attention remaining focused on the broader fiscal implications of the new NDA government’s infrastructure and industrial commitments approved in Monday’s cabinet meeting.
