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