Changing face of Bihar Roads

What Bihari can do for Bihar !!

Nitish Kumar's house, office to go green !

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will use solar energy for lighting up his residence and office, an official said Friday.


"It will set a model for others to follow Nitish Kumar's practical approach for eco-friendly measures," an official in chief minister's office said.

The chief ministers's house and office is on Anne Marg here.

Nitish Kumar has asked the thermal power system to be converted to a solar one. A solar power project will be launched soon, sources said.

"I will use solar energy at my house and office to popularize it and encourage people to go for solar energy," Nitish Kumar told a gathering Wednesday.

New and renewable energy sources have the potential to generate around 2,000 MW of power in the state, said state energy department Principal Secretary Ajay V. Nayak.

Bihar generates around 6 MW from biomass plants, around 4 KW from solar power plant at Patailiya village in Samastipur district and about 55 MW from hydro electric power plants.

Bihar has a daily power demand of nearly 2,200 MW. However, it receives only about 1,000 MW from outside.

NRI IT professionals move back to India

With declining wages abroad, an increasing number of non-resident Indian IT professionals are moving back to their home country, says a survey.
IT and IT-enabled firms in India hired 28 percent more non-resident Indian (NRI) professionals in the first quarter of 2011-12, according to the survey conduced by recruitment consulting firm MyHiringClub.com.

Among 11 surveyed industries, IT and IT-enabled services registered highest growth, with 28 percent increase year-on-year in the first quarter of the current fiscal. It is followed by pharma and healthcare, up by 20 percent, automobile and manufacturing, up by 18 percent, telecom, up by 14 percent, banking and financial services, up by 10 percent and FMCG, up by six percent.

"The high economic growth in India with many good opportunities has fuelled the NRI thought process to head back. In addition to that, many US companies are opening their offices in India and hiring more to target the growing market in Asia," Rajesh Kumar, CEO of MyHiringClub.com, said in the survey report.

He said an increasing number of high value NRI professional recruitment is likely to take place in the coming years as wage gaps have declined sharply.

"Increasing number of people are now returning because now the advantages of returning back to India outweigh the disadvantages by far," said Kumar.

The highest number of NRIs who returned home found jobs in Bangalore, followed by Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

The NRI professional hiring trend survey was conducted online between July 1-15. Senior human resource professionals and top management of 237 firms and 690 recruitment consultants participated in the survey.
Read more: http://goo.gl/4WoI0

Bihar set for a normal monsoon this year

After facing two consecutive drought years, Bihar is set to get a normal monsoon this year -- a good news for the millions of farmers in the state.


"Going by the advance of monsoon this year, Bihar is likely to receive a total rainfall of 1,049.2 mm till Sep 30," Animesh Chandra, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) director in Patna, told IANS.

He said the short spells of rain which the state witnessed Tuesday, could be attributed to pre-monsoon activities.

"Monsoon is likely to hit Bihar between June 10-15. It is on time, a big relief for drought-hit farmers of the state," he said.

Abdus Sattar, agro-meteorologist at Rajendra Agriculture University in Samastipur district, said: "A normal monsoon after drought for two consecutive years will provide an opportunity to farmers of reaping handsome harvest of kharif paddy."

Last year, the Bihar government declared all the 38 districts in the state drought-hit due to rainfall deficit of nearly 22 percent. Inadequate rains had severely hit paddy sowing and transplantation in most districts barring Araria, East and West Champaran.

In 2009, the government declared 26 districts drought-hit.

According to state agriculture department officials, Bihar received just 682.6 mm of rainfall in 2010 and 871.3 mm in 2009. In a normal monsoon year, Bihar receives nearly 1,100 mm of rainfall.

The scanty rainfall in the past two years had an adverse impact on the rice cultivation in the state. Its production came down to 35.14 lakh metric tonnes in 2009-10 and 35 lakh metric tonnes in 2010-11. In a normal monsoon year, the state produces over 40 lakh metric tonnes of rice -- the main kharif crop cultivated in Bihar during the rainy season.

Inclusive, Sustained Growth for Bihar: Ahluwalia

On the first day of the 2-day meeting of five Chief Ministers in Patna on Monday, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairperson Planning Commission, assured Bihar of due consideration of the state's interest in the 12th Five Year Plan.

"PPP has been very successful in Bihar but more such projects needed to be implemented," Ahluwalia said adding issues like Public Private Partnership (PPP) and cash subsidy would be given prominent consideration in the preliminary papers prior to the finalization of the 12th Five Year Plan.

The Commission would strive for 'faster and inclusive growth and sustainability' for all states in the draft papers, he said.

Once again refusing to discuss the issue of Bihar's demand for special status, Ahluwalia said that this was not the right platform for this topic that, he said, belonged to another forum.

Talking to the reporters, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson said that the final draft of the plan would be completed after holding similar meetings with other zones.

Later, the dignitaries were escorted to Hotel Maurya for a cultural show and a sumptuous continental dinner that included items from Pasta to Litti and Chokha and specialties from a number of states.

Sources: http://goo.gl/R6WEW

Bihar coming up with new industries !!

Three of the units, which are directly being set up by the companies, are coming up in Hajipur. The other unit, being set up in Muzaffarpur, is a joint venture with a local company getting the franchise of a reputed brand.

The units will generate employment of over 1,000 people.

Britannia is setting up its biscuit-making unit at Hajipur, around 25km north of Patna. The unit is likely to be operational by September this year.

It will have the capacity to produce 50,000 metric tonnes of biscuits every year and the company would invest about Rs 55 crore under this project. It would provide employment to 330 people.

Bansal biscuits, the makers of the Anmol brand of biscuits, too are setting up their unit in Hajipur. Biscuits made in this unit are likely to hit the local market in March this year. This unit would have the capacity to make 12,600 metric tonnes of biscuit per annum and would provide employment to 117 people. The company is investing about Rs 23 crore.

Another unit that is coming up in the same city is that of Sona Biscuits, the makers of the Sobisco brand. The company is investing over Rs 24 crore for setting up its unit which, after completion, would have the capacity to produce 15,000 metric tonnes of biscuit per annum. This unit is likely to become functional by March this year and it would provide employment to 219 people.

The fourth unit is coming up at Muzaffarpur, around 80km north of Patna, and this is being set up under the private-private partnership model. One Lavanya Finvest Private Limited has taken the franchise to produce the popular ParleG brand at this unit.

The setting up of this unit would attract an investment of about Rs 25 crore. The unit, which is likely to start production by the end of this year, would have the capacity to produce 36,000 metric tonnes of biscuits per annum. This unit would provide employment to 434 persons.

The Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has provided land for all these projects. “We processed the proposals at a very quick pace as the state government is determined to ensure that investors coming to the state face no hassles,” a highly placed source in BIADA told The Telegraph.

The source said work at all these projects are going on at the desired pace and going by the progress made so far, biscuit production in all these units would start this year itself.

The BIADA official also said that those engaged in these projects have also promised to provide a backward linkage, which would ensure that the major raw materials are supplied by local players. “Particularly those having flour mills would be benefited by these upcoming units as flour is the major raw material used in biscuit making,” said the official.

Terming the coming of outside players to Bihar a positive development, CII Bihar State Council chairman Satyajit Singh said, “Bihar is moving in the right direction in the sense that investors have started showing interest in the state. Though the beginning is modest in terms of volume of investment, such beginnings pave the way for bigger investments.”

Singh said the advent of established players would benefit local players also as they would have the opportunity to learn and develop their own brands in future.

Bihar Chamber of Commerce president O.P. Sah said: “In the past five years investors were watching the developments taking place in the state and now that the same government has come to power, they have started investing in Bihar.”

Read more: http://goo.gl/rn0CL

Why companies want to enter into Bihar

In the fifth edition of ‘Samriddhi’, organised by Business Standard, the Bihar government and the business people of the state came together to make the land of Lord Buddha, the high seat of learning in the past, one of the most developed in the country in the next few years.
Bihar is poised to be the next biggest attraction for industries in the country.

With a growth rate of above 10 per cent, today major national and international companies are making a beeline to enter Bihar.

Local entrepreneurs and the state government are also more than happy to welcome them to the state.
Speaking about the law and order situation in the state, he said: “When we took the reins of the state, our first priority was the basic law and order situation. We took out the fear from the mind of the common man. There was never a drought of money in Bihar. There were businesses and people used to earn good also,” said Nitish Kumar.
“However, lack of security and poor law and order situation was a problem. Businessmen migrated from the state. We tackled this problem and provided them proper security.

Now, they can spend money at their will. You will find numerous expensive cars on the roads of Bihar.
Earlier, buying Maruti 800 was such a big problem. Today, nobody who has money thinks twice before buying a Toyota SUV. The situation has changed.

Now people want to come back to Bihar. Investors are searching for new avenues to invest here.”

The chief minister also said: “We have also started to invest heavily on roads. No nation and state can develop without good network of roads.
Everybody needs a good road. Good network of roads ensure fast human development.

Children can go to school and patients can get better treatment. Farmers can get better money for their produce and traders can quickly send their goods to the market.
The situation of roads is improving in the state. What was earlier a ride on the humps of a camel, now is as smooth as silk.”
“We even invested more than Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) on development of national highways. This is not the domain of the state government, but still we did it. We wanted an improved standard of living for our people. So we did it,” said Kumar.
He said: “Today, people are talking about the development of Bihar. We do not want to take the credit. We just did and are doing our work. Actual work was done by the people of Bihar who voted for us. People of Bihar should be congratulated for the change. We are doing what we have been chosen to do.”
The business community of the state fully backed their leader for his development agenda.

The business community is firmly standing behind the state government in its development agenda. We are ready to put all our efforts in the development of Bihar. What makes a state or nation developed?
Good government and clear path of development. Today Bihar has both of them.

So, nobody can stop it now,” said Bihar Chamber of Commerce President O P Sah.

On the other hand, ex-president of Bihar Industries Association K P Jhunjhunwala said: “A few years back A P J Abdul Kalam visited the state.
During his visit he gave the idea of Vision 2015. He called upon us to make Bihar a developed state by 2015.
For that, he emphasised on three sectors — agriculture and agro industries, tourism and human resource development. I, too, think these three sectors will open up new avenues of growth for Bihar.”

However, C K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Industries Department, thinks the SME sector is going to be the key for the development of the state.
He said: “We have to focus on what we have. Take the example of the food processing sector. We have almost infinite possibilities in this sector. Even today, almost 60 per cent of the population of the state is dependent on agriculture.

We are the largest producer of vegetables and second largest producer of fruits. If this sector grows, there is a good possibility that development can reach to the last person in the state.”
Jeevandas Narayan does not fully back the comments of Mishra. The chief general manager (Bihar-Jharkhand) of State Bank of India said: “Nobody can deny the role of SMEs in development, but we have to focus on big companies too. We have to make them invest in Bihar. They will bring the real economic development with them. They will invest heavily and it can provide hundreds of thousands of jobs. They can bring in many of their supporting units and competitors too. So, it is essential for Bihar to attract the big guns.”
One of the B-schools in the state, IIBM’s managing director U K Singh emphasised the need for development of Information Technology in Bihar.
He said: “Our boys are making it big in the world of information technology. To attract the big companies, we have to attract our kids to Bihar. Only then IT/ITeS companies will come to Bihar.”

“We are ready for this sector. We are developing an IT Park in Bihta, near Patna. Infosys is going to open up an incubation centre in that park. However, discussions are still on in this sector. So, I cannot divulge anything more about it,” said Mishra.
Everybody in the panel demanded more support from the central government for the development of Bihar.
Sah said: “We desperately need electricity. Right now we are getting not more than 800-900 Mw from the central pool, which is much less than our requirement of 3,500 Mw. For faster development, we also need special category state status from the central government. Only then big money would start to follow.”
Nitish Kumar lambasted the Centre for not providing adequate support in the development of Bihar.
Read more:- Why companies want to enter into Bihar

Super 30 founder to share dais with Blair, others !!

Anand Kumar, the founder of Bihar's famous Super 30 coaching centre, will share the dais with former British prime minister Tony Blair, Nobel winner Albert Fert and other global greats at a conference in the UAE next week.

"I will share the platform with Tony Blair, Albert Fert, Irina Bokova, Raila Odinga and others in the last week of March in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)," Kumar told IANS Friday.

He has been invited by the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology, which is organising the mega conference of students, Education Without Borders, March 28-31.

The event will feature a host of dignitaries and 3,700 student delegates from 129 countries. Besides Kumar, Blair and physicist Fert, Unesco head Irina Bokova and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga are among the other speakers.

Kumar will speak on his experiences and how education could be the biggest tool for social change. His Super 30 has helped many students from underprivileged sections of society enter the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

"I am happy that people want to listen to me for inspiration. I will keep trying to do something in future that would inspire people to do better," he added.

Kumar, who started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992, founded the Super 30 in 2002.

In the last eight years, the novel initiative has helped 212 students clear the IIT entrance test. During the last three years, all the 30 students of the institute made it to the IITs, drawing worldwide attention.

Most of the successful candidates have come from the most underprivileged sections of society. They are provided free food, lodging and free coaching.

The students have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study each day, Kumar said.

Last year Anand shared his experience with Hollywood producer and director James Cameron at a conference in the township of Lavasa in Maharashtra.

Source: Super 30 founder to share dais with Blair, others !!

Bill Gates, Melinda visit Bihar villages

Software billionaire Bill Gates and his wife Melinda who co-chair their international philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation arrived here on a day-long visit Wednesday to meet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, policy makers, NGOs and community leaders and interacted with villagers.

Soon after arrival, Bill and Melinda visited Jamsaut and Sabjpura villages in the Danapur sub-division near Patna.

Talking to newspersons after meeting villagers, Bill Gates said he was here to know how the health projects funded by his foundation were working for people.

"I am here to know about how far health projects funded by the foundation in partnership with the Bihar government are working to reduce infant and maternal mortality. Besides, (the progress in) institutional delivery and immunization," Bill Gates said.

"Along with their delegation, they met local villagers and interacted with them to understand their problems," a district official who accompanied them told IANS.

Bill Gates also visited Sabjpura-based Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia(CSISA), which aims to help millions of Indian farmers substantially boost crop yield and their income within 10 years. "They spent nearly an hour at CSISA to see and understand the project," the official said.

They met community health workers and state officials to see first-hand the launch of a five-year, $80 million grant made in partnership with the state government.

"They will meet Nitish Kumar Wednesday evening. Before that they will hold meetings with Patna district magistrate, top government officials, NGO partners and community leaders," an official said.

Last May, Bill Gates and his wife visited poverty-stricken Gularia village in Khagaria district and Tertariya village in Banka district of the state.

source Bill Gates, Melinda visit Bihar villages

Infosys likely to set up centre in Bihar

IT giant Infosys is likely to set up its first software development centre in Bihar and the state government is planning to provide it with land, an official said Sunday.
"Infosys officials approached the state government for land to set up its centre. The government is considering to provide land at Bihta near Patna," an official in the chief minister's office told IANS.

Officials said it was still in an early stage and will be decided either by the end of March or April.

The government has decided to develop an IT park in Bihta, 30 km from Patna. Bihta is well-connected by road and rail.

According to officials, Infosys has shown keen interest for a plot near Bihta as it has emerged as the fast growing area after the state government acquired hundreds of acres for setting up IIT campus, Patna.

"IT giant Infosys is to set up its first centre in Bihar. It is a big news for Bihar, which has recorded high growth in the last few years," an IT department official said here.

However, government officials said it was not clear how much investment Infosys will make in Bihar.

Source: Infosys likely to set up centre in Bihar

Bihar moves another step to weed out corruption

Nearly 70,000 officials in Bihar are in trouble for not submitting their assets details to the state government as part of a crackdown on corruption. Their salary for a month is likely to be withheld, officials say.

The deadline to submit assets details ended two days ago.

Deepak Kumar, principal secretary of the general administration department, told IANS that the government has decided to withhold the salary for the month of February of all those officials who have failed to submit their assets details.

He said the majority of officials from the block level office to district headquarters and state secretariat had submitted the information by Monday night.

“The state government will make all the government officials’ assets public in the next two to three days and post it on the government official site,” Kumar said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s initiatives to check corruption are showing results.

Nearly 85 percent of over 4.5 lakh government officials, including Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in Bihar, had submitted their assets details till Tuesday night.

Nitish Kumar had declared a war against corruption after becoming chief minister for the second consecutive term in November last year. “It is part of Nitish Kumar’s efforts to weed out corruption,” an official in the Chief Minister’s Office said.

Setting an example, the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues had declared their assets Dec 31. The details are posted on the state government’s official website.

BFVDC to be developed as service provider !!

The Bihar Fruit and Vegetable Development Corporation (BFVDC) will be developed as a service provider. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting of the agriculture department held under the chairmanship of chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday.

The CM said that under the state’s food policy, after developing the corporation as service provider, ripening chamber of tetra packing unit will be set up. Bihar is a leading state in fruit and vegetable production and it produces 133 lakh metric tonnes vegetables and 38 lakh metric tonnes fruits every year.

It was also decided at the meeting that the agriculture department’s 25-acre land at Mithapur farm would be developed as an agriculture complex. Two models were presented before the chief minister in this connection. The CM directed agriculture production commissioner A K Sinha to remove encroachment from the premises of bazaar samitis. He also directed him to take action against officials under whose tenure these premises were encroached and they failed to take action to remove them.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Narendra Singh showed potatoes grown by the farmers of Sohdih in Nalanda district through organic farming. He informed the chief minister that in organic farming less manure is used.
Source: BFVDC to be developed as service provider

China to explore business opportunities in Bihar !!

Consul general of China based at Kolkata Zhang Lizhong would lead a delegation of Chinese business and industry circles to Bihar in the near future to explore possible tie-ups with Bihar industrial and business groups to establish trade and industrial activities in joint venture.

Lizhong, who takes care of such explorations in the eastern Indian states of West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, said that Bihar under CM Nitish Kumar has become an “attractive” proposition for joint-venture business and industrial activities.

Lizhong, who was interacting with the state’s trade and industry circles at a meet organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a premier hotel here, said that 20 Chinese companies have set up their business houses in Kolkata alone. On the other hand, nine other companies have shown interest to start 14 units in the eastern states, including in the steel sector.

According to him, Bihar had a long tradition of association with China as the latter’s saints visited it during the ancient period. That apart, both India and China have fixed a goal and target to augment their trade volumes, he said, and added that this had opened a new opportunity both for China and Bihar industrial and trade circles to start their mutually advantageous business activities.

He also said that Kolkata had a significant number of people of Chinese origin, and they were living in complete harmony with the local people there, as he had experienced during his interactive meet with them.
Source: China to explore business opportunities in Bihar

Bihar silent revolution: 30,000 women now own land

Until two-and-a-half years ago, Parvatia Devi and Kamla Devi were among the poorest of the poor. They worked as farm labourers and did odd jobs to eke out a living. But today they are proud owners of land and part of the silent revolution through which nearly 30,000 women have been provided land across Bihar.
The state government has distributed over 14,000 acres of land among the poor and landless women in the last three years.
"The state government has distributed 14,722.22 acres of 'bhoodan' (redistributed) land in the last three years (2007 to 2010)," an official of the chief minister's office said here.
A revenue department official told IANS here that for the first time, land ownership rights of the bhoodan lands were being given to women in Bihar.
Last year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that the state government will provide land ownership rights to women in landless families.
He said the decision will strengthen women's position in society. "It will give them (women) more power," he said.
And if Parvatia and Kamla's examples are anything to go by, the initiative seems to be bearing fruit.
Owning around half acre of land each, the women, residents of the drought-hit Gaya district, supplement their income from the farm produce.
And with the economic independence, however marginal, they are also seeing an improved social status, and are respected both by their families and their communities.
Vimla Devi, who works as a wage labourer, said it was a great feeling to be able to own land.
"I am thankful to the state government for it because now I have my own place in my family and society," said Vimla, who lives in a village near Naubatpur in Patna.
Another beneficiary, Shakuntala Devi, said having ownership rights will help women be more assertive of their rights.
"At last, we can have a say in decisionmaking," she said.
Bihar Bhoodan Yagna Committee president Shubham Murti said distribution of bhoodan land among women had been made possible by the positive approach of the government.
The land distribution programme is one of the Bihar government's many women empowerment initiatives.
A total of 50 percent of seats in village panchayats, block development committees and district boards are reserved for women. Three years back, the government also reserved 50 percent of teaching vacancies in government-run primary and secondary schools for women.

Source: Bihar's silent revolution: 30,000 women now own land

Nitish meets PM, seeks cooperation in his development efforts !!

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking the Centre's cooperation in his development efforts and raised the problem of drought in the state.In a seventeen point memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Kumar sought special category status for Bihar, more funds for the state, coal linkage to power projects and expeditious setting up of Nalanda International University.

Kumar also demanded re-imbursement of a sum of Rs 970 crore spent by the state government over maintenance of national highways.In a letter to Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Kumar thanked him for the additional allotment of Rs 1000 crore under the Bihar Special Plan for 2010-2011.Kumar, who came here to attend the Chief Ministers' Conference on internal security yesterday, will also meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukheree and Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav tomorrow.In his letter to the Prime Minister, Kumar also asked for Presidential assent to the Bihar Sugarcane (Purchase and Supply) Regulation Act 1981 and withdrawing the Sugarcane (Control) Order permitting only existing sugar factories to provide ethanol directly from sugar cane juice.Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said that the Centre's non cooperation on coal linkage and ethanol issue is preventing major investments from coming to the state.In his letter, the Bihar Chief Minister sought "favourable consideration" of the Centre on these issues and urged the Prime Minister to consider constituting a Special Task Force under the latter's Principal Secretary to monitor implementation and keep him informed on the progress on these demands.Seeking central assistance for drought, Kumar said only a sum of Rs 341.08 crore has been released to the state of Rs 1459.54 crore sanctioned against the demand of Rs 6573.45 crore sought by the state and requested him to sanction and release the remaining funds immediately. He also invited the Prime Minister to visit Bihar.

Kumar said the state should be given special category state to attract investment and asked for an appointment from the Prime Minister so that an all party delegation can come to submit him a memorandum on this issue.He also said there is a need to reverse the "downward trend" of gross budgetary support for states.In a separate letter addressed to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Kumar reiterated the demand for declaring Bihar a special category state and expressed concern over "dwindling share of Bihar in the 13th Finance Commission grants".

He demanded an independent commission to identify BPL families and revision in allocation of Bihar in Public Distribution System and other social sector schemes.