Bihar gets a thumbs up from industry

The occasion was the first meeting of the Bihar Development 038; Investment Promotion Council, set up last year to suggest radical policy initiatives to change the face of Bihar. On it are industrialists like Anand Mahindra, K V Kamath, Tarun Das, Analjit Singh, and Habib Khorakiwala. They have identified 12 thrust areas with potential for development through public-private partnerships, including agro-industry, tourism, and building brand Bihar.

8220;The situation in Bihar has changed dramatically in the last couple of years,8221; said former bureaucrat N K Singh, who heads the council.

8220;Bihar is changing, its image should change too,8221; said Mahindra. 8220;Let me make this very clear: if we were not sure of the security situation, we would not be here, discussing investments. We are also very happy with the kind of leadership that the state has, both political and bureaucratic.8221;

Sub-groups established for each of the thrust areas are to make recommendations in six to 18 months.

8220;But this entire exercise will not just be restricted to submitting reports. There will be action,8221; said KV Kamath of ICICI Bank.

8220;Bihar must grow at 8.5 per cent. I don8217;t think it8217;s an impossible task. In fact, it8217;s quite realistic.8221;

Almost everyone said there was a need to change Bihar8217;s image.

8220;Image is not entirely divergent of reality,8221; said Singh. 8220;But sometimes the image gets stuck even if the reality is changing. That8217;s what has happened with Bihar. It needs a big image makeover.8221;