Cool Bihari: January 2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bihar Foundation - Connecting Biharis Worldwide

Bihar Government has set up Bihar Foundation to connect and leverage the large network of Nonresident Biharis who are willing to contribute towards development of Bihar.

The main objectives of Bihar Foundation is :

• To provide a forum for and to facilitate communication and interaction between Non-Resident Biharis (NRB’s) and the state of Bihar.

• To facilitate the participation of Bihari diaspora and other Indians in the development of the state of Bihar by involving them in the process of state building and by leveraging their strengths and resources in the fields of Agriculture and allied sectors, Agro based industries, Industries, Tourism, Education, Power, Social welfare, Medical and Healthcare sectors, Infrastructure and other areas of development.

• To unite and form Self Help Groups / local chapters of NRB’s in areas which have substantial Bihari migrant population and to aid them in developing the state of Bihar through strategic interventions in various fields.

• To take steps for improving the vocational training and skill capacity of migrant Bihari labour and to improve their wages and conditions of work.

• To set up libraries, reference and information centres and systems, promotion centres and bodies, demonstration and common service centres relevant to the objectives of the Foundation.

• To provide inputs and suggestions to the GoB regarding policies and schemes designed for the development of the state and to create such funds and endowments as necessary for their implementation.

The foundation has initiated various chapters in different parts of India and abroad. It’s a great initiative for Non resident Bihari people to come together and join the forum and work together to promote investment and collaborate with state for various initiatives.

The local chapters volunteers are working to:

• promote public awareness of the Bihar Foundation

• serve as a local resource in Foundation activities

• raise funds in their community

If you love Bihar and wish to contribute in its development, please volunteer at your nearest chapter or contact us.

The foundation is initiating its Bangalore chapter and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi will inaugurate the Bangalore Chapter .The chapter headed by Amar Pandey, IG (internal security) will mostly consist of software professionals in the city.

The chapter will form a working group for suggesting ways to promote investments into the IT sector in Bihar as the economy requires huge funds to sustain its high growth rate.Modi and CEO of Bihar Foundation Vivek Kumar Singh will meet Kris Gopalakrishnan, one of the seven founders of IT giant Infosys Technologies.

Bihar Foundation has already opened local chapters in Chennai and Bombay and preparing to launch its Delhi chapter in February.

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Labels: Bangalore, Bihar Foundation

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Bihar's Growth Story : The Road Ahead

For many, the news of Bihar’s remarkable turnaround growth of 11.3%, second highest in the country has come as a big surprise. Surprising as it may sound, it was expected growth for those who have been following the plethora of slow but steady fundamental changes which Bihar economy has been undergoing over the past few years. Undoubtedly, the leadership of the state deserves all the due credit and the much maligned bureaucracy also needs to be appreciated for the remarkable turnaround.

The latest CSO data shows that in the five-year period between 2004-05 and 2008-09, Bihar's GDP has grown by a stunning 11.03%.In this period, Bihar - traditionally a laggard state that actually saw a 5.15% negative growth in 2003-04 - is the second fastest growing state, just a shade behind Gujarat's well-publicized growth of 11.05%. Last 3 years the growth has been at around 17-18%.

In my view, this is just tipping point of the much awaited change and thankfully the state didn’t miss its last chance to make up for the colossal losses of the past. Bihar’s GDP in real numbers is still one of the lowest in the country and there is much effort needed to give the state its due which has been denied so far. The growth has been primarily fuelled by reinstating basic governance model in place and considerable effort of the current administration has been towards doing damage control of the past. The state would have done much better if it hadn’t been for the natural calamities and half hearted support from the central govt for few of its critical projects.

India Today reported on the some of the highs of the year for Bihar.

· Bihar initiative of reserving 50 % seats for women in Panchayat Raj Institutions and local bodies was adopted by the country.

· A large number of companies and private institutions reached Bihar.

· Bihar registered a quantum leap in tourism sector. Bihar Administrative Reforms Mission Society Constituted.

· Bihar's percentage per capita growth of 12.07 per cent is not much behind the all India per capita growth rate of 12.73 per cent.

· According to Bihar economic survey for 2008-09, State has registered impressive growth trends in three sectors in the state - construction (21.53%), communications (16.01%) and trade, hotels and restaurants (12.03%).

· Among all States and union territories, Bihar with a crime rate of 118 stood at 28th position in the country.

· In the education sector Bihar remained a viable centre for quality learning, as the already functional branches of Indian Institute of Technology, Chanakya Law University and Chandragupta Institute of Management-which were established during the earlier years- continued to draw top talents.

· Besides, a panel led by Nobel laureate Amartya Sena is also in the process of setting up an international university at Nalanda. Process is underway to accord the status of central university to Rajendra Agriculture University.

Read detail report here ,also read Patna for Prosperity.