PATNA, Feb. 2 -- Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday described the Union budget as "positive and welcome," saying it has been framed with the goal of creating a Viksit Bharat. "This is a progressive and future-oriented budget," he said in a statement. "Through it, the Centre has taken several important steps to accelerate the country's development pace," he added. Kumar pointed to the announcement of seven high-speed rail corridors across the country, noting that the Varanasi-Siliguri corridor will bring significant advantages to Bihar. He also welcomed the plan to develop 20 new national waterways, including ship repair facilities in Patna and Varanasi. "The expansion of waterways will benefit many cities in Bihar, ease the export of our products, and boost trade and commercial activities," he added. Further appreciating the focus on employment, Kumar praised the announcements of large textile parks, the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swarozgar Yojana and Rs.40,000 crore support for semiconductors. He said that these measures would create new job opportunities for youth across the country, including Bihar and speed up economic growth. He also noted the special attention to Purvodaya states and the Northeast, which he believes will bring more industrial investment, infrastructure and jobs to Bihar. Additionally, provisions for urban development and the plan to build girls' hostels in every district were highlighted as steps that would improve urban infrastructure and higher education access for women. Kumar concluded by thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting "a better budget." Echoing the CM, his deputy Samrat Chaudhary said the budget is a "strong, far-sighted and people-friendly step" towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He said it rests on three core duties: sustaining economic growth, fulfilling public aspirations while making people partners in progress and ensuring equal opportunities under the principle of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. Chaudhary described the budget as welfare-oriented, comprehensive and dedicated to overall development in agriculture, industry and infrastructure, with special focus on empowering the youth. He specifically welcomed the ship repair centres in Patna and Varanasi, saying they will strengthen river transport, turn both cities into waterway hubs, boost Bihar's economy and create fresh employment. He also listed several national initiatives-rare earth corridors, new freight corridors, industrial clusters, MSME funds and bio-pharma investments-as measures that will give the economy new momentum. At the end, he extended hearty congratulations and thanks to the PM, FM and the entire team for this "historic and inclusive" budget. The opposition, however, was scathing in its assessment, accusing the Centre of neglecting Bihar's needs. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram called it "the most disappointing budget so far," alleging that the NDA government had hidden a crumbling economy behind glittering figures. "Bihar has received nothing substantial," he said, pointing out that pre-election promises from last year remain unfulfilled and the state has not even got its due share. He cited the immediate fall in the stock market as evidence of lost investor confidence and criticised the budget for prioritising corporates over the middle class and small investors. Chief spokesperson of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Shakti Singh Yadav labelled the budget "completely directionless and anti-people." He said despite the hype around it being the FM's ninth presentation, it offered neither vision nor roadmap for ordinary citizens. "Bihar has been handed mere tokens," Yadav charged, dismissing the Patna ship repair announcement as cosmetic while the state continues to languish at the bottom in education and health indicators. The CPI(ML) went further, calling it the "worst budget" in comparison to previous anti-people budgets. In a detailed statement, the party said the document ignores rising inequality, unemployment, falling incomes, and a struggling manufacturing sector. It accused the government of slashing or stagnating allocations for social security, poverty alleviation, agriculture, education, and health, while major welfare schemes saw sharp under-spending in the previous year. The party also criticised the emphasis on corporate-friendly skill development over genuine education and the absence of measures to protect farmers or address climate impacts on agriculture. On the ruling side, former deputy CM and senior BJP leader Tarkishore Prasad welcomed the budget as one that meets public expectations and will accelerate economic growth towards the 2047 developed-nation goal. He said provisions for investment, industry, and job creation are robust, and announcements like ship repair ecosystems and high-speed rail corridors will inject fresh energy into Bihar's employment, connectivity, and industrial development....