At Pravasi Divas, Nitish showcases Bihar

On a day in which 12 Indian states vied with one another for NRIs’ attention, it was the new Bihar promised by Nitish that everyone was rooting for.

Arriving with the strongest delegations of all states, comprising the state’s Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, its power minister, chief secretary, industries, education and tourism officials, Bihar hogged more attention than top of the class Gujarat.

“You all know there has been a change in Bihar. We have been given a mandate to improve Bihar. So, we are giving utmost importance to this NRI meet,’’ Nitish said.

“We want investment. People have been scared of Bihar. We’ll take all decisions needed to attract investment. In the little time we have had we have tried to create an environment for investment in industries, education, hospitals, sugar mills, agro-processing, power and infrastructure. Our human resource is our best asset. Give us a chance,’’ he said.

His government, since assuming office, has decided to set up an investment promotion board—a single-window system for processing all investment and a special economic zone, he said.

“Law and order remains our top most priority. Peace and harmony is what I am trying to restore immediately in Bihar,’’ he said. Incidentally, even as the Bihar CM spoke, news of the kidnapping of the grandson of a member of his delegation in Hyderabad came in. “A massive manhunt has been launched to find the boy. We want to put an end to this,” Nitish said. “Our large presence at the Pravasi Divas is an effort to build investors’ confidence in Bihar. We have already announced over 12 packages to improve investment. We are addressing the law and order situation. The police force will be modernised with better weapons and instruments,’’ Sushil Modi stated.

The NRIs seemed quite pleased by the sales pitch but were not committing investment as yet. “Bihar is known only for the wrong things. Anything Nitish does will be a plus. Law and order is first, then transportation and communication. There is great hope but we want to wait and watch for six months to a year,’’ said Dr Mahadeo Chand, a Patna native settled in Ohio, USA. “We’ll wait for two to three years before deciding to invest…,’’ said Dubai-based NRI businessman Suresh Gandhi.