Government and administration

The constitutional head of the Government of Bihar is the Governor, who is appointed by thePresident of India. The real executive power rests with the Chief Minister and the cabinet. The political party or the coalition of political parties having a majority in the Legislative Assemblyforms the Government.

The head of the bureaucracy of the State is the Chief Secretary. Under this position, is a hierarchy of officials drawn from the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and different wings of the State Civil Services. Thejudiciary is headed by the Chief Justice. Bihar has a High Court which has been functioning since 1916. All the branches of the government are located in the state capital, Patna.

The state is divided into 09 divisions and 38 districts, for administrative purposes. The various districts included in the divisions - Patna, Tirhut, Saran, Darbhanga, Kosi,Purnia, Bhagalpur, Munger and Magadh Division, are as listed below.

District map of Bihar

Division		Headquarters		Districts
Bhagalpur		Bhagalpur		Banka, Bhagalpur
Darbhanga		Darbhanga		Begusarai, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur
Kosi		Saharsa		Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul
Magadh		Gaya		Arwal, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada
Munger		Munger		Jamui, Khagaria, Munger, Lakhisarai,Sheikhpura
Patna		Patna		Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, Patna, Rohtas,Nalanda
Purnia		Purnia		Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj, Purnia
Saran		Chapra		Gopalganj, Saran, Siwan
Tirhut		Muzaffarpur		East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Sheohar,Sitamarhi, Vaishali, West Champaran