Bihar attracts Rs.1,032 crore investment in four years

Bihar, one of the poorest states in the country, attracted private investments worth Rs.1,032 core in the last four years, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Friday.

The Bihar State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has cleared 220 investment proposals in the past four years, Modi said.

'SIPB cleared 220 proposals of which 22 have already been commissioned and 74 are under various stages of the implementation process,' he said.

Modi added that the southern parts of the state remained a favourite destination of industries, while central Bihar was still struggling to attract investors.

'Keeping this in view, the government is now trying to make this area attractive for investors.'

He said big industrialists were showing keen interest in Bihar after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar initiated some measures to develop the state's infrastructure.

Most of the investments are in the food processing, power, sugar, cement and agriculture sectors.

In the past three years, four big industrialists visited Bihar to explore investment possibilities.

They were Tata group chairman Ratan Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra group vice-chairman Anand Mahindra, Bharti group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.

After coming to power in November 2005, the Nitish Kumar-led government had initiated several steps to build infrastructure facilities like roads, bridges and power, to attract investors.

The government has also prepared a land bank to make land available for industrial projects.

According to Industry Minister Bijrendra Prasad Yadav, there is a 'visible change in the economic environment' of the state in the past four years.

The government has started pushing major investment projects since January 2006. Once the proposed projects are implemented, it would create job opportunities for more than 100,000 people, government officials said.

An official at the chief minister's office said the government was now regularly receiving new investment proposals from industrialists.