Bihar offers creators up to Rs 1 lakh per video for government content

MUMBAI: In Bihar, going viral could now have a government-approved price tag. Social media creators can earn up to Rs 1 lakh per video for producing content around government schemes, welfare programmes and development initiatives, after the Bihar Cabinet approved amendments to the Bihar Social Media and Other Online Media Rules, 2026.

The revised rules introduce a performance-linked incentive for creators empanelled with the state’s Information and Public Relations Department (IPRD). Under the new structure, creators will receive Rs 10,000 for every one lakh views, with the payout capped at Rs 1 lakh for a single video. In other words, hitting 10 lakh views would put a creator at the maximum payout.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday and was among 13 proposals cleared by the state government.

But there is a catch before creators can cash in on the views. The incentive will not apply to anyone who simply posts about a government scheme on their own. Creators, social media pages and channels must first be registered and empanelled with the IPRD to qualify for the scheme.

And the government is not counting the views as soon as the numbers start climbing. Under the amended rules, a video’s performance will be assessed after it has remained online for 30 days, making sustained reach rather than an immediate spike the basis for calculating the incentive.

The policy also builds in checks around the numbers themselves. The rules provide for periodic verification of creators’ followers and engagement figures, with the aim of detecting inflated reach caused by fake followers, bots or manipulated views.

The move effectively turns government communication into a performance-linked creator economy model, with social media reach becoming a measurable part of how public information is distributed.

For creators, that means government communication could become another revenue stream. For the state, it offers a way to take welfare schemes and development initiatives beyond traditional advertising and into feeds where audiences increasingly spend their time.

With a potential Rs 1 lakh payout per video, Bihar’s latest social media rules suggest that in the age of influencer-led communication, government messaging is no longer just about being seen — it could also be about how many people actually stop to watch.