Cool Bihari

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.

Labels: Amartya Sen, Bihar 2.0, Bihar Economic Development, Bihar Finance, Bihar Govt., Bihar Tourism, Brand Bihar, Nitish Kumar, Urban Reforms

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, December 22, 2008

Bihar Minister is MTV youth Icon

Youth icons from Bihar are now leading by example and it’s not surprising to see that Minister of state for disaster management Nitish Mishra has been selected as one among the eight young achievers of Pepsi MTV Youth Icons for 2008. He, along with other icons, would now feature on one million Pepsi My cans.

The selection was made through online voting and SMS. The selected eight come from different walks of life. They are fashion designer, food chain owner, boxer, cyber security guru, filmmaker, musician, development professional and, of course, politician. They have been selected from among 30 nominees who were shortlisted from 8,000 plus entries.

The organisers, instead of looking for super achievers, opted for those who have made a difference. And the minister from Bihar with a postgraduate diploma in global political economy from University of Hull, UK, fitted the bill for making it to the list.

As the minister of disaster management in Bihar, he was the driving force behind the rescue operations following the Kosi floods early this year. Supervising one of the biggest rescue operations in the world, Nitish helped evacuate almost 10 lakh people.

After studying Global Political Economy from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, Nitish Mishra could have pretty much done anything that he wanted to. But unlike his peers who went for high paying Development sector jobs, Nitish went for the most unexpected option. He joined politics! As the Minister of Disaster Management in Bihar, Nitish has been the driving force behind the flood rescue operations in Bihar.

Nitish was identified as one of the most promising social entrepreneurs by Digital Partners Seattle, a venture capital firm funding technology companies, for his E-Swasthya project in Madhubani district of Bihar. From social entrepreneurship to social justice and equality, Nitish continues to be the steady worker that he is!

Watch Nitish's winning video here

Labels: Bihar 2.0, Bihar Govt., Bihari Newsmakers, Bihari Talent, Bihari Youth Icon

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The real Bihar..

It’s interesting to observe the piquant dichotomy which Bihar presents to the world. On one hand a media report observed how the lack of proper transportation facility in rural Bihar makes life difficult for people and so they end up circumventing the system to beat the travel blues.

On the other hand Railways have recently introduced a new high-tech system through which passengers can procure their reserved-journey tickets from ATM counters. Patna Junction is likely to have this facility soon, said Danapur DRM B D Garg. According to Garg, the railways have introduced this system with an aim to provide more facilities to passengers as well as to reduce rush of passengers at the main computerised reservation counters. Patna Junction has been allotted eight ATM counters of which three have already started functioning for purposes other than the reserved-journey tickets.

Despite the progress which the railways have made, chances are that the rest of country is more likely to recall the first incident in which folks in rural Bihar stop the train for boarding by waving Rs 20 note. But will someone represent Bihar for the good things and changes are taking place on ground.

Recent anti corruption drive against the govt officials have helped in changing the impression of the executive functionaries in the state. Over 200 officials have been caught red-handed while accepting bribe during the drive which began in August 2006, Additional Director General (Vigilance) Neelmani said.

Based on this we can say that two officials are being trapped almost every week for taking illegal gratifications for bestowing undue favour," he said. Informing that the bureau had registered around 165 such cases since August 2006, he said, "The catching of five officials, including a block development officer, in the two weeks of this year proves beyond doubt that the vigilance has further intensified its drive."

These efforts needs to be lauded as the system is back on track to deliver the goods, the drive against the menace of corruption has restored the faith of common man in the administration and it has set great example for others to follow as well.

Labels: Bihar, Bihar Govt.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Nitish Kumar talks

Nitish Kumar talks about his initiatives for Bihar.

Labels: Bihar Govt., Nitish Kumar

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

E-governance in Rural Bihar

Bihar govt. has taken a laudable initiative to initiate the e-governance project in all its 8,479 panchayats at a cost of INR 252 million.

The proposal that was approved last week at a state cabinet meeting in Patna aims at setting up a panchayat information centres or panchayat portals called Vasudha Kendras that will enable villagers to connect with the outside world and provide affordable and easy access to information about the government and its policies.

These Vasudha Kendras would further be connected to all state departments through the Internet and the government will provide computers and Internet connections at the panchayat level centre. According to the plan, eight government departments, including the chief minister secretariat, will be linked to the State-wide Area Network (SWAN).

The project aims at establishing direct contact with villagers and making the functioning of the government more transparent.

According to reports, the project would be developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) along with the Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation, a state-owned IT body, while Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) will monitor the implementation.The state had provided top administrative officials and ministers with laptops as part of its e-Governance initiative only recently. Besides, it has also connected all its 38 district headquarters through video-conferencing link.

Initiatives like these definitely give more credibility to the idea of Bihar 2.0 and if executed well it bring about lot of ground level changes at the local level . One of the challenges which Bihar is facing today is that of proper governance at micro levels like panchyats and small districts. Govt funds and other incentives to boost employment opportunities and income levels in these villages have proved to be an execution nightmare due to inefficiencies existing in the current structure. The advent of e-governance will surely improve things at ground level at it will allow govt officials to keep closer watch on the project implementation and execution of ideas at grassroots levels.

Labels: Bihar 2.0, Bihar Govt., Development Projects in Bihar, E-Governance in Bihar, Grassroot Innovation, Infrastructure, Social Entrepreneurs

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Survey shows good trends for Bihar Govt.

If one believes the findings of the recently concluded nation-wide survey by ORG-Marg and AC Nielsen Nitish Kumar with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been rated as the best-performing CM.The survey has identified the areas and segments where Nitish has made the real difference. The survey was commissioned by India Today.

First comes Nitish’s phenomenal acceptance level in the State, with 81 per cent respondents from Bihar rating him the best. Only Narendra Modi and Assam CM Tarun Gogoi enjoy such unstinted support, with 82 and 84 per cent respectively backing them in their respective home States.

The initiatives taken in the field of school education have emerged as the biggest factor propelling Nitish’s popularity in Bihar, followed by the state of hospitals, policing, roads and housing. The survey asked the respondents if the quality of key services had improved, deteriorated or remained the same in the last six months.

In Bihar, a whopping 75 per cent of the respondents felt that there was improvement in school education in the, while only 11 per cent believed it had deteriorated. The healthcare initiatives also seemed to go down well with the people. Sixty-one per cent of the respondents were of the view that there had been improvement in the state of healthcare, while 11 per cent thought there was deterioratio. Another 22 per cent did not find any change. Six per cent had no idea.

Policing also fared well for the Nitish Government, with 59 per cent of the people surveyed holding that there had been improvement. Only 12 per cent felt it had deteriorated, while 25 per cent did not find any change. Similarly, in the road sector, 54 per cent of the people surveyed felt there was improvement, while 13 per cent believed it had deteriorated. Thirty-two per cent did not experience any change.

Labels: Bihar Govt., India Today, Survey

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments