Mayank Krishna and I had a first hand experience of the new govt of Bihar in action during the interaction of Nitish Kumar with IIM students. We were invited there, courtesy a Prof at IIM A and we had the privilege to listen to the CM during his address to the students. Subsequently, there was a more close interaction with the students (about 40). The students during the close interaction were not necessarily from Bihar, but rather those who are interested in Bihar.

Nitish Kumar was present along with senior officials of the Govt like the Chief Secretary, Agri Prod Commissioner, and other representatives of the Govt of Bihar. I must say I came out quite impressed from the whole program.

Punctuality and time management was impeccable. The program started on time and ended on time. Nitish Kumar spoke in Hindi. His speech was direct and succinct. His humility was touching. He did not make any grandiose promises or indulged in unnecessary verbiage. One got the impression that he is well aware of the problems and is working hard to solve them.

He has a heart that beats for the poor and the dispossessed. However, he also knows the importance of development. Tourism, Agriculture, Agri based industry and Education are his priorities. He is extremely concerned that the infrastructure in Bihar is very weak and is particularly concerned about the power situation.

He also came across as a man who is willing to listen to new ideas. He is justifiably proud of the innovations that his government is bringing about, for example the Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) which is likely to be replicated by the other states.

Among the plans presented by the students, those concerning poor people and those related to agri business caught his attention. He has invited people from various walks of life to contribute to the development of Bihar.

We also had the privilege to interact with Prof Raghuraman of IIM A, a tranportation and logistics expert., I could not help but ask why the new age highways like the golden quadrilateral and the East West corridor, thoguh passing through Bihar donot touch the population centres either in Bihar or in Jharkhand. Also, why are there so few bridges over Ganga in Bihar when there are so many in UP or Delhi?

His answer was direct and very honest. He said that because nobody has thought any better.

Perhaps the lesson for us is to keep our effort in highlighting such issues so that they get the deserved attention and hopefully get addressed appropriately.

And yes, the Jan event of non resident bihari meet could be a big event. Govt of Bihar is certainly behind it.

Warm regards

T V Sinha