India, Oct. 23 -- Nirmala Devi beams with quiet satisfaction as she sits outside her freshly repainted home in Kalyanpur's Rampura village ahead of the Chhath Puja. She has a reason to celebrate - a Rs.10,000 credit under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana recently landed in her bank account as part of a government loan scheme aimed at encouraging women entrepreneurship.

The Nitish Kumar government's "Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana" aims to provide Rs.10,000 each for self-employment to over 12.1 million women, positioning it as a direct counter to the opposition INDIA bloc's "Mai Behan Maan Yojana," which promises a monthly stipend of Rs.2,500 to eligible women.

Talking about the loan, Nirmala Devi said: "This is a good amount. It...