Bihar conducts roadshows to woo investors

Bihar strives to change perception, invites investors to Global Investors' Summit in Dec. 2023. Govt. has improved infrastructure, law & order, created land bank & plug-and-play facility. Offers skilled manpower, youth & access to 35 cr. people in catchment area. Offers 40K small-scale industries for migrant labourers.

Having made a remarkable turnaround in terms of economic growth, education and healthcare in the past few years, Bihar is reaching out to investors from India and abroad. The Industries Department of the State is conducting roadshows in various parts of the country to meet industrialists and businessmen and apprise them of the law and order situation in the state and the industry-friendly business climate it offers. Bihar Industries Minister Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Director of the Industries Department Pankaj Dixit, and other officials on Monday met more than a dozen businessmen from Mumbai and urged them to visit the state capital in December before deciding to invest. For the first time, the State Government would be organising a Global Investors’ Summit in Patna from December 13-14, where more than 1,000 delegates are expected to participate and several sectoral policies are to be announced.

“We have two prime objectives. One, we want to invite investors to this event. Two, more importantly, we want to change their perception on Bihar. Bihar has changed, our infrastructure and law and order situation are on a par with any other state,” said Mr. Dixit.  “Unless people realise it, the perception will not change. Our primary objective to promote micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs). We have a good base of MSMEs. This sector is a pre-requisite for any industrialisation. We are now ready for the next industrial revolution,” Mr. Dixit asserted. He said skilled manpower and the youth of Bihar were the key “trump cards to woo investors.” Besides, the state had created a plug-and-play facility of 24 lakh sq. ft. for companies to start operations without delay.  The government had spent more than ₹1,400 crore in two years to develop industrial areas and created a land bank of over 3,000 acres at various places to allocate lands for industries. The roads had become better and connectivity had improved drastically, Mr. Dixit said.    The State is looking for investment in priority sectors which include food processing, textile, apparels, IT/ITES, electronics and electric vehicles. “Bihar has come a long way. Bihar has come out of teething problems. Companies which have bases are increasing capacity. We may have a population of 13 crore, but our catchment areas have 35 crore people, including in Nepal and Bhutan. So, any company that would invest in Bihar will have access to this market. Please come and have a feel of the charged Bihar,” said Mr. Mahaseth.     He said since COVID there had been a huge decline in the number of people from Bihar heading to Mumbai in search of employment, and more than 15 lakh people had registered to live and work in Bihar.  The Bihar government had come up with new proposals for 40,000 small-scale industries in Bihar itself for migrant labourers of its State so that more people could be provided employment in the State. “These may be late baby steps as compared to giant strides by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha and even Andhra and Telangana in terms of industrialisation, but these are significant for balanced development across the country,” he added.