Bihar made its presentation to NRIs on the third day
of PRAVASI BHARTIYA DIWAS today in Delhi to attract
their investment. Bihar is growing at the rate of 14 per cent, which is
far ahead of the national growth rate. NRIs said
earlier they were ashamed to admit that they were
from Bihar but now proudly announce it. The minister and officials want NRIs to invest in Bihar
because:
i. There is governance
ii. Law and order is maintained
iii. Growth is inclusive
iv. People trust the government v. Agriculture is their strength and therefore food
processing industry would do well.
vi. Last year they saw four lack tourists, which was
more than Goa.
vii. There are women police stations in all 38 districts
viii. There is a huge local market and labour is cheap ix. There is plenty of water
x. Biharis have sharp minds and the IT revolution
was driven by Biharis worldwide
xi. They have established three anti-terror schools in
three troubled districts
xii. They were giving lots of industrial investment incentives Forty units are coming up in Bihar every month for
the last three years. There was an abundance of food
grains. They were the largest producers of fruits and
vegetables 35% of fruits and vegetables were wasted and in the
next five years they would bring this down to below
10 per cent. The government will contribute 40 per
cent of the funds when companies come in and 35
per cent if individuals invest. It was not funds alone that they need but also ideas.
Industries in Bihar get 22 hours of uninterrupted
power supply and sometimes 20 hours. It was the households that face drastic cuts. They
were also putting up a handloom production
infrastructure in Bhagalpur and a Jute park in
Purnea. There were 2,361 units in industrial areas
now. In the 1960s, Bihar produced 25 per cent of the
country's sugar. Now it was three per cent of the country's
production. In the last three years, they have
increased production from 30,000 tcd per annum to
72,000 tcds. Three years ago there were six mills and
now there were 12. Next year there would be 16. Their aim is to go back
to their 25 per cent of the national output. Bihar has
the highest illiteracy in the country. But now it boasts
of the highest growth in education in the last decade. In the road sector, the aim is that anyone from any
part of the state should be able to reach Patna in six
hours. The hospitality sector will be encouraged in
Bodh Gaya and other Buddhist pilgrimage centres
and also Sufi centres. There are now Primary Health Centres in all 534
blocks of the state. In 2006, 45,000 women
delivered babies in hospitals and now 16.3 lack
women deliver in hospitals. Most of the NRIs praised Bihar and said they were
interested in investing in power sector, cement
industry and hospitality sector. All in all it was a
powerful presentation.
