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Bihar: From Laggard to Investment Hotspot

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By Rediff Money Desk, PATNA\t   Dec 12, 2024 19:38

Bihar emerges as an investment destination with investor-friendly policies, infrastructure, and resources. Adani, Coca-Cola, and Ambuja Cements have made major investments. Learn more.
Patna, Dec 12 (PTI) Bihar, once a laggard, is emerging as an investment hotspot, leveraging its resources with investor-friendly policies, and ease of doing business. Firms ranging from Adani Group to Coca-Cola have made multi-billion dollar investment announcements and more are to come.

Its industries and tourism minister Nitish Mishra, with his CEO-style approach to governance, is pivoting Bihar into a state that could be a gateway for investors to Eastern India.

Bihar's industrial potential is limitless, he says. "Bihar has been a victim of perception. But that is changing now."

The Adani Group has announced investment of Rs 8,700 crore in the state, Ambuja Cements is setting up a Rs 1,200 crore unit, and Coca-Cola is expanding its bottling capacity.

The state offers investors fiscal incentives ranging from interest subvention to reimbursement of State GST, stamp duty waiver, export subsidy and concessions for transportation, power, and land fee, he said.

Plus it offers a single window clearance not just at the time of approval but also in disbursal of incentives.

"No one needs to come to the Sachivalaya (Secretariat). No one needs to come to the government office," he said. "Whatever promise we are making, we are delivering it."

Disbursal of fiscal incentives happens every quarter without having to knock on any door, he said.

And there is regular monitoring to avoid any slippages.

Bihar is offering about 2.4 million square feet of ready-to-move Plug and Play Industrial Sheds, equipped with all basic infrastructure requirements, situated in industrial areas across the state. These are available for any industry at fixed rate, he said.

The state has also created a land bank of 3,000 acres for setting up industries.

It has addressed the law and order problem and now offers almost round-the-clock electricity and infrastructure to reach seaports at Kolkata and Haldia, as well as to raw material sources and mineral reserves in neighbouring states like Jharkhand.

It will showcase its policy and achievements at the second edition of Bihar Business Connect 2024 investor summit on December 19-20. The first edition was a mega success, attracting Rs 35,000 crore of investment commitments.

The Bihar government has labelled the food processing, IT and IT-enabled services (ITES), and textiles and leather sectors as high-priority and has separate policies to promote investments in each one of them. Also, it is going big on renewable energy sources such as ethanol and biogas.

Mishra attributes the Bihar turnaround to Centre and the state working in tandem.

With a progressive-minded central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the regional imbalances are a thing of the past. Every state has a chance, he said.

And Bihar grabbed its chance in the last two decades. A state that used to clock negative growth rate, is now clocking growth rate better than the national average.

The state has built massive infrastructure - from roads and highways to warehouses and mega food park, leather processing hub, integrated manufacturing cluster and multimodal logistics park. It is now building two special economic zones (SEZs).

"Our policy is good and fortunately our leadership here in Bihar has been so good that in these 19 years we have built a very good infrastructure," he said. "Bihar is ready (for investors)."

Bihar has a unique location-specific advantage because of its proximity to the vast markets of Eastern and Northern India and Nepal. A fundamentally agrarian economy, the state has a large agricultural and animal production base offering abundant supply of raw material for a range of industries - from agro-based (food processing, silk and tea) to leather and non-metallic minerals.

Plus, there is no water problem and has abundant inexpensive labour.

"I see Bihar as very strategically located. We have a huge population (more than 14 crore) of our own and it's a big market," he said adding an industry in the state also services market in eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as the the entire eastern part of the country - from West Bengal to the North Eastern states.

Besides bordering Nepal, Bihar has road and port connectivity that gives access to Bangladesh and Bhutan.

While other states may face water scarcity, Bihar has an abundance of it. It also has a very fertile soil. The state also boasts of having the highest number of young population.

"These are our main strengths and I see that in the coming days, Bihar has the potential of becoming the major growth engine (of growth) for the entire eastern part of India," he said. "This is the time of Bihar".
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