Patna: Bihar on Wednesday became the first state to provide dynamic assured career progression to doctors in government service on the lines of their counterparts at the Centre.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar took the decision at the cabinet meeting. The state pay commission, headed by former chief secretary G.S. Kang, had recommended this in its report.

"The cabinet has approved a proposal of the health department to provide dynamic assured career progression exactly on the lines of the Centre to state government doctors and teachers in medical colleges," said Brijesh Mehrotra, the principal secretary of cabinet secretariat.

Till now doctors and medical teachers were given the first dynamic assured career progression after six years of service, the second after 12 years and the third after 18 years. This decision will enable them to four promotions in 20 years.

The first promotion from Pay Band II with grade pay of Rs 5,400 to PB III with grade pay of Rs 6,600, four years of service will be needed. Doctors in specialist category will get their first promotion from PB III grade pay Rs 6,600 to PB III grade pay Rs 7,600 after two years of service. The next promotion to PB IV grade pay Rs 8,700 will come after four years of service in PB III grade pay of Rs 7,600.

Doctors teaching in government medical colleges will get their dynamic assured career progression on the same lines as that of specialist doctors. The central dynamic assured career progression has been theoretically approved from October 29, 2008, but the financial benefits will accrue from April 1, 2017.

Bihar Health Services Association general secretary Ranjeet Kumar told The Telegraph: "We had been demanding dynamic assured career progression on the lines of the Centre for a long time. It is a happy occasion that it has been granted. Bihar has become to first state to do so."

The cabinet also approved the proposal of Bhopal-based All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology to establish a private university at Bhagwanpur in Vaishali district.

It will be named CV Raman University and function from a private engineering college's building at Bhagwanpur, taken on rent.

Courses in engineering, management, nursing, paramedics, sciences, commerce, education, law, arts, IT and computer application, agriculture, disaster management and vocational skill development will be taught.

The cabinet approved conversion of 14 temporary land registration offices in permanent ones, and creation of 42 different posts for each of them.