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After
many years, there is some good news about Bihar
that gives some hope of resurgence. Bihar has
recently played host to a number of big names of
corporate India, like Ratan Tata of the Tata
group, Max Healthcare Chairman Analjit Singh and
Ashok Ganguly of ICICI OneSource.
To start with, the Tata group may be exploring
the possibility of investing in low-cost hotels
in the state. Some well wishers of Bihar are
also toying with the idea of offering better
concessions for Tata's pet project- Rs 1 lakh
car plant in Bihar that is facing a lot of
political problems in acquiring land at Singur
in West Bengal. Bihar will certainly be a better
location with the militant unionized workforce
of Bengal. Max Healthcare is looking to set up a
super-specialty healthcare centre and hospital
in Patna. It is not only that the maximum
numbers of patients come from Bihar to Delhi;
Delhi also must be having the maximum number of
doctors of Bihari origin.
Anand Mahindra on his visit to Patna announced a
slew of investments in Bihar that includes a
satellite assembling plant in Patna similar to
its units in Rudrapur and Jaipur, an investment
business to tap rural savings, an
agro-processing unit for lichis and mangoes of
Bihar, investments in IT, a Mahindra resort in
Bodh Gaya and Rajgir and investment in a
non-polluting transport system. The Nitish
government has already worked out elaborate
plans to promote Rajgir-Bodh Gaya-Gaya circuit
on the international tourism map along with an
International University. Mr Ratan Tata
supported the state government's plan to set up
golf courses near Rajgir-Nalanda, besides
setting up of five-star hotels to promote
tourism in the area.
Bihar has also accepted the proposal by a Tamil
Nadu-based firm, M/S Indian Gasohol Limited for
setting up four maize-based industrial units in
Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, and Vaishali
for an estimated investment of Rs 2,500 crore.
As stated by Ratan Tata, chairman of the
Investment Commission, 'the commission stands
committed to facilitating Bihar's development
and to promoting it as an investment
destination'.
With the change in the perception of
investor-friendliness, the Bihar government has
received a large number of investment proposals
for sugar mills, malls, multiplexes, hospitals,
and particularly educational institutes. A good
percentage of them have got the approval too.
Proposals for setting up eight new multi-purpose
sugar mill complexes in Madhubani, East
Champaran, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Madhepura,
Begusarai and Nalanda districts with the
capacity of crushing 65,000 tonne sugarcane per
day involving an estimated investment of Rs
2,157 crore are in hand of the government.
The aggressiveness of the government is clear
from the appointments of the reputed persons
such as NK Singh, the former revenue secretary
and planning commission member as the chief of
state planning commission and Muchkund Dubey,
former Foreign Secretary to head the Common
School System Commission, a high level team
comprising two Secretary level officials on
Sunday to Hong Kong on a "brand Bihar mission"
to participate in a four-day conference on
tourism, and the planned major meet early next
year to woo non-resident Indians (NRIs) from the
state.
The state is under a process of image building
for an investor-friendly state. It promises
certain advantages over already developed states
in terms of cheap real estate prices, limited
labour-related issues and a large educated
manpower at nearly one-third the cost compared
to cities like Bangalore or Chennai. However,
Bihar is still to go miles before it does some
significant improvement in infrastructure,
socio-economic backwardness, and law and order.
Will the interests shown by so many of biggies
translate into actual investment in Bihar? It
will certainly depend on the initiatives and
assistance provided by the government over the
time. CM and his team will have to work hard to
make it. Many are watching the three states of
eastern India- Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. It is
for the time to judge who proves really better.
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Comments: |
It is good to see investment
lollypops shown by few biggies for
Bihar. But, I afraid of resistance
shown by RJD in the case of land
allotment to Prakash Jha for
building multiplex and etc. For
investment starved Bihar, it will be
better if RJD keep mum over the
investments. Also Govt. ensure merit
in recruitment process by Private
parties, any source-pairavi will
damage the quality of work force and
will bring Dadagiri in expecting
industry and hence there will be
negative impacts in the investment
prospects. We should learn lesion
from once prosperous Dalmia Nagar,
turned to ghost house. -
Tarakeswar Dubey - Sept. 29, 2006
The crucial theme in 'Bihar' should
be 'Vihar'. A distortion that
occurred during the 600 years long
period of alien rule which in its
fission reaction shattered our
Bihar's cultural landscape by a
single stroke deleting "Vi" to "Bi".
It should now be corrected.
The highest precedence, therefore,
must be Education Emergency in the
state to revert the intellect bank
from displacement from villages and
townships. Bihar's social networking
within the country and the globe
should get on to a group mail to
pioneer newer initiatives in taking
knowledge dissemination almost free
to the masses at affordable costs
with returns to flow after placement
of the trainees - the best possible
industry by creating other SEZs
(SPECIAL EDUCATION ZONES). -
Saurabhi Singh - Sept. 29, 2006
The article painted a real picture.
Need of the hour for our state is to
invest in education. I am in Pune
and seen so many students from Bihar
studying in colleges in and around
the city. I read somewhere that a
whopping amount, to the tune of Rs.
8500 crore, of Bihari money is spent
by students going outside to pursue
their studies. This is a big sum of
money. We need to build our
educational infrastructure-technical
universities and colleges. If we are
able to do that, that money can
boost economy of Bihar by several
notches. It will foster the growth
of some ancillary industries
resulting in employment
opportunities to lakhs of our youth.
One minor advantage would be that
the students would be spared the
indignation of hearing about the
backwardness of Bihar. - Jitendra
Tiwari - Sept. 29, 2006 |
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