PATNA, May 14 -- As the Bihar rural development department braces to launch the second phase of the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana-which seeks to empower women with monetary assistance for entrepreneurship-a survey of around 6 million first-stage beneficiaries of the Rs.10,000 seed money suggests that about 80% of them have started some kind of business, officials in the department said. The survey is likely to be wrapped up by next month and will be followed by the rollout of the second phase, which will see eligible women getting an additional aid of Rs.20,000 to Rs.2 lakh. According to officials, around 4.8 million out of 6 million women beneficiaries have been surveyed so far and most have started enterprises with the granted seed money. Mostly, the women have utilised the money in agriculture-related businesses and small service kiosks in their respective villages and towns. This indicates that agriculture-related services remain the most reliable venture for women entrepreneurs in Bihar, which is considered an agrarian state, officials said. "The initial findings of the survey of 6 million beneficiaries show encouraging trends with a large number of beneficiaries having started some kind of enterprise in the agriculture and service sectors. However, a good number of women have not started any enterprise so far. That is being addressed," said one official. Officials said the government is strictly monitoring how beneficiaries have utilised their money, whether they have started a business, how they are evaluating its prospects and how they aim to expand it to generate not only income but also employment for others. Thus, an official said, a number of beneficiaries may not qualify for the next tranche of assistance. The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project, or Jeevika is the nodal agency for implementing the ambitious scheme launched in September 2025 to make women from economically weak sections in both rural and urban areas financially stable. The scheme was one of the ambitious schemes launched by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar just ahead of the state assembly elections held in October-November 2025 across Bihar. Around 16.7 million women have been disbursed Rs.10,000 crore costing the state exchequer Rs.16,700 crore to date, according to official sources. "The eligibility criteria for the second tranche are strict: those who have started enterprises must show financial discipline, a clear business plan and avenues for profit from their enterprise. Selections for the second phase will be done through proper filtering," said an official involved in the next-stage selection. "The budget for the second stage of the scheme has been sanctioned but we are proceeding with caution as we want to provide a sustainable platform for women entrepreneurs to run their ventures. Fiscal stability is a major criterion for enhancing the enterprises. We will also provide proper training in fiscal management to the beneficiaries so they can keep proper records of accounts, bookkeeping, and financial transactions once they expand their business," said another official....