Industry doyens give thumbs up to Bihar dvpt, credit Nitish for progress

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that though the state’s interest had been ignored by successive central governments since Independence, the spirit of the people had not been dampened and they had set the course for development with social justice under NDA rule. Speaking at the conclusion of the three-day Global Summit on Changing Bihar, Kumar singled out agriculture as the backbone of the state’s economy. Kumar said that the state government had decided to launch a 10-year agriculture roadmap from 1 April, 2012 under which Rs 1.5 lakh crore would be invested for increase in farm yield, storage, marketing and related activities. “Bihar has taken upon itself to to launch a second green revolution in the country,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_218308” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”]  [/caption] Kumar showcased improvement in the law and order and overall image makeover to make a case for the state’s drive to recovery. He said that the spirit of the people had not been dampened by adverse situations, including the bifurcation of Bihar, and they had set out on the path of development with social justice. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said corruption was a major challenge, but the state government had taken measures like mandatory annual declaration of assets by officers as well by the Chief Minister and ministers. The state government had enacted a strong Lokayukta Act and set up the Special Courts Act to deal with corrupt public servants, he said, adding that other states had taken a lead from Bihar to crackdown against corruption. The ill-gotten wealth of senior officials was confiscated and put to public use, he said. ICICI Bank’s Non-Executive Chairman KV Kamath said Bihar could become a BPO hub in the field of IT sector given the unlimited opportunities over the next 2-3 years. Bihar would emerge as a developed state in the next 10 years and not 15 years or more as claimed by critics, he said. British industrialist of Indian origin Karan Bilmoria compared the leadership of the Bihar chief minister and his deputy with the vision of former UK premier Margaret Thatcher. He said Thatcher had changed the face of Britain and because of her efforts, the country was now acknowledged as the seventh largest economic power in the world. “Nitish-Modi duo are scripting a new history for Bihar by ensuring quality change,” he said. SEBI Chairman U K Sinha rubbished reports that banks were conspiring against Bihar on the issue of improving its Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR). “In several corridors in Bihar there is a misconception prevailing that banks are conspiring against Bihar with respect to improving the CDR. It is not true…people should throw this misconceptions out of their mind,” he said. Senior journalist MJ Akbar said that there was a need for both intellectual and private capital investment in Bihar to carry forward development of the state. “Bihar had for long languished as the backward region with even the people and intellectuals losing hope for a turn around, but the situation has indeed changed for better,” he said . The senior journalist lauded Kumar and Modi for leading the state on the path of economic recovery and development, and said that both intellectual and capital investments have started flowing in to sustain development process. PTI