दुनिया में जहां कहीं भी ओर्थक समृद्धि आयी है, उसकी जमीन स्थानीय उद्यमियों ने तैयार की. बिहार में माहौल बदला, तो कई युवाओं ने मोटी तनख्वाह का ऑफर ठुकरा कर उद्यमिता की राह पकड़ी है. ऐसे युवा उद्यमी बोधगया में बिहार इंटरप्रेन्योर नेटवर्क के बेन-2011 कॉन्फ्रेंस में 21 व 22 मई को जुटेंगे. बिहार में सामाजिक उद्यमिता के प्रति उभरी आकांक्षा को केंद्रित कर आज से विशेष श्रंखला शुरू की जा रही है.
पटना : सरसरी तौर पर आपको यह सचमुच विसंगतियों से भरा मामला दिखेगा. 20 साल की उम्र में कंपनी का गठन एक्सएलआरआइ से एमबीए के बाद गांव व खेती में जुटना. निश्चित भविष्य की गारंटी वाली नौकरी का ऑफर ठुकरा कर बिहार में बदलाव लाने की पथरीली डगर का चयन. जिस बंजर जमीन पर खेती भी मुश्किल हो, वहां डीजल पैदा करने की जिद. डीजल भी उस पेड़ से निकालने की योजना, जिसे बिहार में फालतू पेड़ माना जाता है.
जी हां, करंज से.गया के युवा उद्यमी कुमार अंकित ने अपने लिए राह चुन ली है. वह बिहार की एक लाख एकड़ बंजर जमीन पर करंज के पौधे उगा कर इससे बायो डीजल, ग्लिसरीन, बिजली और बायो कीटनाशक पैदा करने की परियोजना पर काम कर रहे हैं. इसके लिए उन्होंने अपने दो युवा सहयोगियों मनीष दयाल और कुमार राहुल के साथ मिल कर ग्रीन लीफ एनर्जी प्राइवेट लिमिटेड नामक कंपनी बनायी है.
बकौल अंकित, उनकी योजना करंज के बीज से 10 करोड़ लीटर बायो डीजल और 20 मेगावाट बिजली उत्पादन की है. इससे हजारों किसानों को अगले 50 वर्षो तक आमदनी का जरिया उपलब्ध हो जायेगा.सामाजिक उद्यमिताअंकित ने गया के डीएवी से स्कूली पढ़ाई की. फिर जबलपुर से इंजीनियरिंग.
बाद में उन्होंने एक्सएलआरआइ, जमशेदपुर में एमबीए में दाखिला लिया. इंजीनियरिंग की पढ़ाई के दौरान दूसरे राज्यों के दोस्त उन्हें बिहारी कह कर चिढ़ाते थे. तभी उन्होंने तय किया था कि वह बिहार की छवि को न केवल बदलने में जुटेंगे, बल्कि उदाहरण भी पेश करेंगे. एक्सएलआरआइ में पढ़ाई के दौरान अपने शिक्षक मधुकर शुक्ला और प्रबल सेन से उन्होंने सामाजिक उद्यमिता का अर्थ जाना. इंडियन इंस्टीच्यूट ऑफ साइंस, बेंगलुरु के उदीपी श्रीनिवास के करंज के पौधे से बायो डीजल उत्पादन पर शोध के बारे में जानकारी मिली. फिर तो अंकित ने अपनी राह चुन ली.नर्सरी में सवा लाख पौधे सितंबर, 2009 में अंकित ने डोभी के कोठवारा गांव में करंज के सवा लाख पौधों की नर्सरी लगायी.
तत्कालीन औद्योगिक विकास आयुक्त ए विजय राघवन और ग्रामीण विकास सचिव विजय प्रकाश से मिल कर पूरी परियोजना की जानकारी दी. अंकित ने मनरेगा के तहत बंजर जमीन पर करंज के पौधे लगाने का प्रस्ताव सरकार को दिया, जो न केवल स्वीकृत हुआ, बल्कि 23 जून, 2010 को सरकार ने इसकी नीति भी बना दी. अंकित की योजना गया, नवादा, औरंगाबाद, जमुई, बांका और कैमूर जिले की एक लाख एकड़ बंजर जमीन पर करंज का पौधा लगाने की है. इसके लिए सरकार प्रति एकड़ 26704 रुपये अनुदान देगी. इससे किसानों को पौधों की देखभाल के लिए13 हजार 200 रुपये प्रति एकड़ मिलेंगे.
अंकित ने गया जिले के शेरघाटी, डोभी, बाराचट्टी जैसे पिछड़े इलाकों में करंज के 13 लाख पौधों की नर्सरी लगायी है. फिलहाल उन्होंने 500 एकड़ में करंज के पौधे लगाये हैं. ग्रीन लीफ एनर्जी प्राइवेट लिमिटेड का जल्द ही एचपीसीएल और आइओसी से करार होने वाला है, जो करंज के बीज से निकला तेल खरीदेगी.
अंकित की योजना बिहार के अपने प्रयोग को उत्तराखंड में आइएफडीसी के साथ मिल कर जमीन पर उतारने की भी है.
करंज से फायदे अनेक
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-जमीन की उर्वरता बरकरार
-एक एकड़ में 200 पेड़
- पेड़ों के साथ खेती की भी गुंजाइशऐसे बनेगा बायो डीजल
- नर्सरी में चार-पांच माह में पौधा तैयार
- चौथे वर्ष में 4-5 किलो फल आने लगेंगे
- आठवें वर्ष में प्रति पेड़ 25 किलो फल
- फल की खरीदारी कंपनी तय रेट पर करेगी
- एक पेड़ 50 वर्ष तक फल देगा
- तीन किलो बीज से एक लीटर तेल
- तेल से बायो डीजल, ग्लिसरीन व कीटनाशक बनेगाकई राज्यों में सफल है प्रयोग
- कर्नाटक में सरकारी बसों में बायो डीजल का उपयोग
- छतीसगढ़ व आंध्र प्रदेश में प्लांट स्थापित
- 35 रुपये प्रति लीटर बिकता है बायो डीजल.
Showing posts with label BIHAR DEVELOPMENT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BIHAR DEVELOPMENT. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Prof. Piyush Sinha on BEN in Prabhat Khabar -लो कॉस्ट नहीं, गुड वैल्यू पर सोचिए
बिहार में आये बदलाव के बाद दूसरे राज्यों की तरह यहां भी उद्यमिता के प्रति रुझान बढ़ा है. अच्छे संस्थानों से पढ़े-लिखे युवकों में यह प्रवृत्ति विकसित हुई है कि वे खुद के लिए क्यों नहीं मेहनत करें. कहीं और जाकर नौकरी के बजाय अपने लिए काम क्यों नहीं करें. यदि आपके पास बेहतर आइडिया हो, तो लोग मदद को तैयार हैं. बिहार इंटरप्रेन्योर नेटवर्क (बेन) के बैनर तले युवा उद्यमियों के जुटान को मैं इसी कड़ी में देखता हूं.
सोशल नेटवर्क का सपोर्ट जरूरी
जो लोग सामाजिक उद्यमिता के क्षेत्र में आ रहे हैं, वे एक भावना के साथ आ रहे हैं. यहीं पर एक खास ध्यान देने वाली बात है. उद्यमिता की शुरुआत भावना से हो और संघर्ष की क्षमता नहीं हो, तो फ़िर वह हवा हो जायेगा. बिहार में इको सिस्टम बनाने की जरूरत है. इससे मेरा मतलब वातावरण के निर्माण, आधारभूत संरचना के स्तर पर सहयोग और सरकारी मशीनरी में त्वरित फ़ैसला से है. दीपक तभी तक उजाला देगा, जब तक कि उसमें तेल हो. इसके बाद कुछ देर तक दीपक जलेगा जरूर, लेकिन तब उसकी बाती जलेगी. दूसरे राज्यों में आज जो विकास देख रहे हैं, वह एकाएक नहीं आया है. 10-15 वर्ष पहले इसकी शुरुआत हो चुकी थी. बिहार में अब जाकर यात्रा शुरू हुई है, इसलिए सबसे पहले तो सोशल नेटवर्क का सपोर्ट जरूरी है. केवल सरकार के स्तर पर नहीं, बल्कि सामाजिक स्तर पर भी उद्यमियों को सहयोग और पॉजिटिव रेस्पांस मिलना चाहिए. यदि किसी प्रोजेक्ट की स्वीकृति में देर होगी, तो जाहिर है कि उसकी लागत बढ़ जायेगी. उत्पादन लागत बढ़ेगी, तो बाजार में परेशानी खड़ी होगी. फ़िर बाजार की प्रतिस्पर्धा में टिके रहना मुश्किल होगा.
लघु उद्योग को मिले बढ़ावा
बिहार के संदर्भ में एक और जरूरी चीज है - घिसे-पिटे पुराने ढर्रे के सोच को बदलना होगा. नये एप्रोच व नये आइडिया के साथ आगे बढ़ना होगा. फ्रांस, जर्मनी जैसे कई देशों ने लघु उद्योगों की बदौलत आर्थिक तरक्की की है. कोई जरूरी नहीं कि आप बड़ा बिजनेस या इंडस्ट्री शुरू करें. छोटे स्तर पर प्रयास किया जा सकता है. मेरी राय है कि बिहार में कम लागत (लो कॉस्ट) के बजाय बेहतर गुणवत्ता (गुड वैल्यू) पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है. यहां उपजाऊ जमीन बहुत है. बेहतर मानव संसाधन है. इसका इस्तेमाल करना चाहिए. कृषि में कुछ करना है, तो क्यों नहीं इसी में ऊंची गुणवत्ता पर सोचें. गन्ना में उत्पादकता कम है, तो सिर्फ़ शुगर इंडस्ट्री तक क्यों, इसके बाइ प्रोडक्ट पर सोचें. मेरे कहने का मतलब है कि बिहार को नयी सोच की जरूरत है.
बेन एक बेहतर प्रयास
बिहार में सरकार ने कोशिश शुरू की है. यदि आप लंबी सोच लेकर चले हैं, तो इंटरमीडियट रिजल्ट देना जरूरी होता है. परियोजनाओं को संपूर्ण रूप से जमीन पर उतरने में वक्त लगेगा. इस बीच कैपिसिटी बिल्डअप करते जाना होगा. यह सतत विकास के लिए जरूरी है. उपलब्धि हासिल होती रहे, तो लोगों में उम्मीद बनी रहती है. बिहार इंटरप्रेन्योर नेटवर्क (बेन) को मैं उद्यमिता के लिए बेहतर प्रयास मानता हूं. बेन जैसे पचासों और प्लेटफ़ॉर्म की जरूरत है, जो पढ़े-लिखे ही नहीं, साधारण उद्यमियों को भी राह दिखा सकें. अब वक्त आ गया है कि केवल सरकार ही नियोजक की भूमिका में न रहे, बल्कि उद्यमीगण दूसरे को नौकरी दे सकें.
- प्रो पीयूष कुमार सिन्हा -
(पटना निवासी पीयूष कुमार सिन्हा, आइआइएम, अहमदाबाद में मार्केटिंग के प्रोफ़ेसर और सेंटर फ़ॉर रिटेलिंग के चेयरपर्सन हैं. लंबे समय तक एक्सआइएम, भुवनेश्वर और आइआइएम, बेंगलुरु में भी पढ़ाया. यह आलेख रजनीश उपाध्याय से बातचीत पर आधारित है.)
सोशल नेटवर्क का सपोर्ट जरूरी
जो लोग सामाजिक उद्यमिता के क्षेत्र में आ रहे हैं, वे एक भावना के साथ आ रहे हैं. यहीं पर एक खास ध्यान देने वाली बात है. उद्यमिता की शुरुआत भावना से हो और संघर्ष की क्षमता नहीं हो, तो फ़िर वह हवा हो जायेगा. बिहार में इको सिस्टम बनाने की जरूरत है. इससे मेरा मतलब वातावरण के निर्माण, आधारभूत संरचना के स्तर पर सहयोग और सरकारी मशीनरी में त्वरित फ़ैसला से है. दीपक तभी तक उजाला देगा, जब तक कि उसमें तेल हो. इसके बाद कुछ देर तक दीपक जलेगा जरूर, लेकिन तब उसकी बाती जलेगी. दूसरे राज्यों में आज जो विकास देख रहे हैं, वह एकाएक नहीं आया है. 10-15 वर्ष पहले इसकी शुरुआत हो चुकी थी. बिहार में अब जाकर यात्रा शुरू हुई है, इसलिए सबसे पहले तो सोशल नेटवर्क का सपोर्ट जरूरी है. केवल सरकार के स्तर पर नहीं, बल्कि सामाजिक स्तर पर भी उद्यमियों को सहयोग और पॉजिटिव रेस्पांस मिलना चाहिए. यदि किसी प्रोजेक्ट की स्वीकृति में देर होगी, तो जाहिर है कि उसकी लागत बढ़ जायेगी. उत्पादन लागत बढ़ेगी, तो बाजार में परेशानी खड़ी होगी. फ़िर बाजार की प्रतिस्पर्धा में टिके रहना मुश्किल होगा.
लघु उद्योग को मिले बढ़ावा
बिहार के संदर्भ में एक और जरूरी चीज है - घिसे-पिटे पुराने ढर्रे के सोच को बदलना होगा. नये एप्रोच व नये आइडिया के साथ आगे बढ़ना होगा. फ्रांस, जर्मनी जैसे कई देशों ने लघु उद्योगों की बदौलत आर्थिक तरक्की की है. कोई जरूरी नहीं कि आप बड़ा बिजनेस या इंडस्ट्री शुरू करें. छोटे स्तर पर प्रयास किया जा सकता है. मेरी राय है कि बिहार में कम लागत (लो कॉस्ट) के बजाय बेहतर गुणवत्ता (गुड वैल्यू) पर ध्यान देने की जरूरत है. यहां उपजाऊ जमीन बहुत है. बेहतर मानव संसाधन है. इसका इस्तेमाल करना चाहिए. कृषि में कुछ करना है, तो क्यों नहीं इसी में ऊंची गुणवत्ता पर सोचें. गन्ना में उत्पादकता कम है, तो सिर्फ़ शुगर इंडस्ट्री तक क्यों, इसके बाइ प्रोडक्ट पर सोचें. मेरे कहने का मतलब है कि बिहार को नयी सोच की जरूरत है.
बेन एक बेहतर प्रयास
बिहार में सरकार ने कोशिश शुरू की है. यदि आप लंबी सोच लेकर चले हैं, तो इंटरमीडियट रिजल्ट देना जरूरी होता है. परियोजनाओं को संपूर्ण रूप से जमीन पर उतरने में वक्त लगेगा. इस बीच कैपिसिटी बिल्डअप करते जाना होगा. यह सतत विकास के लिए जरूरी है. उपलब्धि हासिल होती रहे, तो लोगों में उम्मीद बनी रहती है. बिहार इंटरप्रेन्योर नेटवर्क (बेन) को मैं उद्यमिता के लिए बेहतर प्रयास मानता हूं. बेन जैसे पचासों और प्लेटफ़ॉर्म की जरूरत है, जो पढ़े-लिखे ही नहीं, साधारण उद्यमियों को भी राह दिखा सकें. अब वक्त आ गया है कि केवल सरकार ही नियोजक की भूमिका में न रहे, बल्कि उद्यमीगण दूसरे को नौकरी दे सकें.
- प्रो पीयूष कुमार सिन्हा -
(पटना निवासी पीयूष कुमार सिन्हा, आइआइएम, अहमदाबाद में मार्केटिंग के प्रोफ़ेसर और सेंटर फ़ॉर रिटेलिंग के चेयरपर्सन हैं. लंबे समय तक एक्सआइएम, भुवनेश्वर और आइआइएम, बेंगलुरु में भी पढ़ाया. यह आलेख रजनीश उपाध्याय से बातचीत पर आधारित है.)
Friday, April 01, 2011
A New Bihar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has got another feather in his cap from none other than President Pratibha Patil, the latter obviously impressed by the efforts towards empowering women and the overall development of the state under the stewardship of Nitish Kumar. Ever since coming to power (he has been re-elected for a second term) by defeating Laloo Prasad Yadav, the quiet and efficient Chief Minister of Bihar has gone about doing his job earning both admiration and respect from even his opposition. Under him Bihar has changed for the better. The image of Bihar as a land of crime, corruption, cattle, backwardness and poverty is now a thing of the past. Today there are visible signs of peace and development. This is indeed refreshing. Today Bihar would undoubtedly be the most improved State in the country. It’s indeed a great leap forward and due credit to the leadership of Nitish Kumar. When people talk about the new Bihar, they usually refer to the transformation—the State was in complete chaos when Nitish Kumar first assumed office in 2005. Bihar was more popular for its rampant kidnapping and killing, the disorder, poverty and caste politics. Things have changed and there is hope and optimism among the people. Not only within but the image of Bihar as perceived by the outsider is positive. This is very important for the future prospect of the State. With order, political stability and strong progressive leadership, investors will have confidence to enter Bihar and this will do a world of good to the local economy.
The other aspect about the leadership quality of Nitish Kumar, which merits attention and applause, is the reformist zeal that he has demonstrated during his tenure as Chief Minister. This is rare for a politician because the more power you get to wield, the more entrenched your vested interest becomes. In the case of Nitish, he has challenged the status-quo on many occasions.
Take the case of the MLA Local Area Development (MLALAD) Fund, which the Nitish Kumar government has scrapped. In a unique approach, the failed LADF has been replaced by the CM Area Development Programme (CMADP). Under the plan, which will be at the district-level (as against the Assembly segment level), while the minister-in-charge, MLAs and MLCs concerned will only select schemes every year, its implementation will rest with a body of engineers headed by Engineer-in-Chief. Also, while chief/executive engineers will sign cheques, district magistrates can only monitor implementation of schemes so they meet deadlines.
As against arbitrary selection of contractors under the MLALAD Fund, there will be open tendering in which a CAG representative would be present. Bihar has therefore become the first state in the country to scrap the LADF because of the rampant corruption within the existing system. Nitish Kumar is not your usual run in the mill politician who clings on to power. He has an agenda and vision for the peaceful development of Bihar and its people. And he wants to deliver this vision through real performance and not just publicity stunts. Politicians in India and even Nagaland can learn from Nitish Kumar. He has been able to move away from the old ways of doing politics i.e. based on the status-quo. And in a way this is welcome development not only for Bihar but also for the politics of the country
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Bihar’s rising power demand
A very well articulated article by GURUDEO SINHA in Financial Express.
Bihar has low electricity consumption but it might see a big jump in its power demand soon, with rural electrification programme in the state progressing at a brisk pace. The state should deal with the emerging challenge through a strategy involving both supply and demand side measures.
Bihar has achieved very high growth rate in the past five years. Sustenance of this growth rate requires huge jump in electricity demand. Bihar’s per capita annual consumption of electricity of around 100 kWh against the national average of around 700 kWh is due to very poor state owned generation (only one unit of 110 MW is in operation with 38% plant load factor) and low allocation from CPSU (around 1,600 MW). Rural electrification which currently stands at around 10% is expected to grow to around 100% in the next two years thanks to RGGVY.
The finances of Bihar State Electricity Board are in poor shape. The Government provided the Board with revenue subsidy and grant of R720 crore in the financial year 2008-09. It is essential for the state to adopt a multi-pronged strategy so that in a short time frame availability of power can be increased, T&D losses can be reduced, wasteful consumption is controlled, demand side management used to reduce peak power demand and Distributed Generation used to provide security of supply in rural sector.
An option of arranging for electricity in a short time lies in procurement of electricity through; bidding process from generation which is neither fuel nor location specific. This is especially important as it normally takes around four years to set up and commission a thermal power plant. In addition, new plants can get bogged down by issues of land acquisition, environmental clearances, coal linkages and financial closure; the State can actively engage with Nepal to set up Hydel based generation in the Himalayan Rivers. Although time consuming, this is one source which is perennial in nature, is carbon neutral and will assist in flood management of North Bihar. Engaging corporate entities to participate in unique and sustainable initiatives by the government can be another source. The Public-Private-Partnership model will enhance the promotion of alternate energy source schemes already available. TERI’s ‘Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL)’ campaign has succeeded in illuminating the lives of over 1.5 lakh people, spread over 600 villages across 16 states in India, since its inception. The campaign receives support from corporates and PSUs among its various partners, who believe that corporate responsibilities go beyond the financials.
Bihar is essentially an agrarian state and various renewable means of generating electricity can be effectively employed. Distributed Generation using biomass such as rice husk, corn cobs/other
renewable sources has the potential to enhance security of supply and provide employment in rural areas. Co-generation in sugar mills should also be promoted.
Loss reduction strategies and load management programmes are required to be implemented by ensuring metering up to distribution transformer level linked to remote computer so that power flows can be monitored on line and segment of high losses identified and corrective actions taken swiftly. Consumer indexing is essential for loss reduction as the difference between energy sent out from each transformer and the energy billed and collected for consumers linked to each transformer provides the real picture of transformer wise T&D loss and AT&C loss. Load flow studies should be used for upgradation , strengthening and expansion of distribution network. This shall also help in loss reduction and improve security of supply.
Re-organisation of the electricity board into transmission, generation and distribution needs to be carried outas it provides operational, managerial and functional autonomy to successor utilities to operate along commercial lines. It also transfers past losses to a holding company thus paving the way for financial turnaround of the sector. An independent SLDC for real time operations and control of state grid, scheduling and dispatch, energy accounting is necessary for efficient and secure functioning of the power sector. Special Electricity Courts as per the Electricity Act, 2003 need to be established to address issues related to illegal abstraction of electricity and help in loss reduction drives. Voltage wise energy audit and energy accounting is necessary to be carried out so that technical and commercial losses can be segregated and suitable targeted interventions identified and implemented.
Demand Side management (DSM) based on ESCO model (Energy Service Companies) being promoted by BEE for replacing inefficient agricultural pump sets provides an opportunity to change them with
no cost to the farmer or the Government or the distribution utility and help in reducing demand as well reducing electricity consumption. Bachhat Lamp Yojna being promoted by BEE can be used to promote efficient lighting. These initiatives also help in reducing carbon footprint.
Fast tracking of electricity reforms, IT interventions both for on line monitoring through Supervisory Data Acquisition and Control Systems (SCADA) and Management Information System are necessary for achieving security of supply with a low carbon pathway.
Assured and affordable availability of electricity shall provide the base for all round development and industrial growth of Bihar. It holds the key to fulfilling aspirations of people in Bihar.
(The author is senior energy expert, TERI)
You can read the article also on Financial Express here
Bihar has low electricity consumption but it might see a big jump in its power demand soon, with rural electrification programme in the state progressing at a brisk pace. The state should deal with the emerging challenge through a strategy involving both supply and demand side measures.
Bihar has achieved very high growth rate in the past five years. Sustenance of this growth rate requires huge jump in electricity demand. Bihar’s per capita annual consumption of electricity of around 100 kWh against the national average of around 700 kWh is due to very poor state owned generation (only one unit of 110 MW is in operation with 38% plant load factor) and low allocation from CPSU (around 1,600 MW). Rural electrification which currently stands at around 10% is expected to grow to around 100% in the next two years thanks to RGGVY.
The finances of Bihar State Electricity Board are in poor shape. The Government provided the Board with revenue subsidy and grant of R720 crore in the financial year 2008-09. It is essential for the state to adopt a multi-pronged strategy so that in a short time frame availability of power can be increased, T&D losses can be reduced, wasteful consumption is controlled, demand side management used to reduce peak power demand and Distributed Generation used to provide security of supply in rural sector.
An option of arranging for electricity in a short time lies in procurement of electricity through; bidding process from generation which is neither fuel nor location specific. This is especially important as it normally takes around four years to set up and commission a thermal power plant. In addition, new plants can get bogged down by issues of land acquisition, environmental clearances, coal linkages and financial closure; the State can actively engage with Nepal to set up Hydel based generation in the Himalayan Rivers. Although time consuming, this is one source which is perennial in nature, is carbon neutral and will assist in flood management of North Bihar. Engaging corporate entities to participate in unique and sustainable initiatives by the government can be another source. The Public-Private-Partnership model will enhance the promotion of alternate energy source schemes already available. TERI’s ‘Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL)’ campaign has succeeded in illuminating the lives of over 1.5 lakh people, spread over 600 villages across 16 states in India, since its inception. The campaign receives support from corporates and PSUs among its various partners, who believe that corporate responsibilities go beyond the financials.
Bihar is essentially an agrarian state and various renewable means of generating electricity can be effectively employed. Distributed Generation using biomass such as rice husk, corn cobs/other
renewable sources has the potential to enhance security of supply and provide employment in rural areas. Co-generation in sugar mills should also be promoted.
Loss reduction strategies and load management programmes are required to be implemented by ensuring metering up to distribution transformer level linked to remote computer so that power flows can be monitored on line and segment of high losses identified and corrective actions taken swiftly. Consumer indexing is essential for loss reduction as the difference between energy sent out from each transformer and the energy billed and collected for consumers linked to each transformer provides the real picture of transformer wise T&D loss and AT&C loss. Load flow studies should be used for upgradation , strengthening and expansion of distribution network. This shall also help in loss reduction and improve security of supply.
Re-organisation of the electricity board into transmission, generation and distribution needs to be carried outas it provides operational, managerial and functional autonomy to successor utilities to operate along commercial lines. It also transfers past losses to a holding company thus paving the way for financial turnaround of the sector. An independent SLDC for real time operations and control of state grid, scheduling and dispatch, energy accounting is necessary for efficient and secure functioning of the power sector. Special Electricity Courts as per the Electricity Act, 2003 need to be established to address issues related to illegal abstraction of electricity and help in loss reduction drives. Voltage wise energy audit and energy accounting is necessary to be carried out so that technical and commercial losses can be segregated and suitable targeted interventions identified and implemented.
Demand Side management (DSM) based on ESCO model (Energy Service Companies) being promoted by BEE for replacing inefficient agricultural pump sets provides an opportunity to change them with
no cost to the farmer or the Government or the distribution utility and help in reducing demand as well reducing electricity consumption. Bachhat Lamp Yojna being promoted by BEE can be used to promote efficient lighting. These initiatives also help in reducing carbon footprint.
Fast tracking of electricity reforms, IT interventions both for on line monitoring through Supervisory Data Acquisition and Control Systems (SCADA) and Management Information System are necessary for achieving security of supply with a low carbon pathway.
Assured and affordable availability of electricity shall provide the base for all round development and industrial growth of Bihar. It holds the key to fulfilling aspirations of people in Bihar.
(The author is senior energy expert, TERI)
You can read the article also on Financial Express here
Bihar Society as Co-Sponsor of 7th Annual India Business Conference organised by Columbia Business School.
Bihar Society as Co-Sponsor of 7th Annual India Business Conference organised by Columbia Business School. Have a look here and
7th Annual India Business Conference vF Reduced Size v2
7th Annual India Business Conference vF Reduced Size v2
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Bihar Entrepreneur Network: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Friends,
For last few weeks we have been dicussion several ideas with some of you and we also had several conference calls on Skype, the outcome is following:
1) To establish a BIHAR ENTREPRENEUR NETWORK or BEN (something like TIE http://www.tie.org/)
BEN’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship among BIHARI community through mentoring, networking, and education. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, BEN’s focus is on generating and nurturing our current and next generation of entrepreneurs.
2) To Conduct an ENTREPRENUER conference in Bodh Gaya in April to foster entrepreneurship, share learnings with first generation entrepreneurs and promote Bihar as Brand for Business, this will be under joint sponsorship of Bihar Society Govt. of Bihar ( confirmation awaited). The original IDEA to have this conference is of Naveen jee (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=650349891) and Ankit (http://www.facebook.com/ankit.gle).
This conference will also be the Launch pad for the BEN.
3) To have a BEN-NASSCOM event in PATNA in 2011- This event will be considered after successsful completion of BEN conference and formal launch of BEN.( Abhishek Kumar Singh is owning these job fair project and more details will be shared later)
4) TO organise an online Job Fair and a physical job fair at Patna ( Abhishek Kumar Singh is owning these job fair project and more details will be shared later).
4) To Establish a Venture Capital Fund which will be called BIHAR ANGEL NETWORK (BAN) to promote, finance for excpansion or to finance seed capital to current and future BIHARI enteprenuers.
Atul (http://www.facebook.com/atultech) and I have agreed to take a lead and any one of you can join in this initiative. BAN will be promoted as a company and any one willing to contribute towards the Fund will be a shareholder. Corporate and other structure will be shared with the interested members on one to one basis. Since we are very particulat about success of the BAN, we would be very selective in choosing our shareholders…a committment and passion for doing something good for Bihar should be Paramount.
TO start with we have committed following amounts and I am listing it below: If any one of you would like to chip in as shareholder in the Venture Fund ( BAN) then please feel free to add your name and the seed capital you would like to put.
1) Atul Kumar – USD 5000
2) Santosh Pandey – USD 5000
The Idea is to start with a seed capital of USD 100K and grow from there. We are also in touch with some Angel Investor and might get some big or moderate funding to start with.
If you want any more details on any of the above matters please feel free to get in touch with :
1) Ankit
2) Atul
3) Naveen
Santosh Pandey
For last few weeks we have been dicussion several ideas with some of you and we also had several conference calls on Skype, the outcome is following:
1) To establish a BIHAR ENTREPRENEUR NETWORK or BEN (something like TIE http://www.tie.org/)
BEN’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship among BIHARI community through mentoring, networking, and education. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, BEN’s focus is on generating and nurturing our current and next generation of entrepreneurs.
2) To Conduct an ENTREPRENUER conference in Bodh Gaya in April to foster entrepreneurship, share learnings with first generation entrepreneurs and promote Bihar as Brand for Business, this will be under joint sponsorship of Bihar Society Govt. of Bihar ( confirmation awaited). The original IDEA to have this conference is of Naveen jee (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=650349891) and Ankit (http://www.facebook.com/ankit.gle).
This conference will also be the Launch pad for the BEN.
3) To have a BEN-NASSCOM event in PATNA in 2011- This event will be considered after successsful completion of BEN conference and formal launch of BEN.( Abhishek Kumar Singh is owning these job fair project and more details will be shared later)
4) TO organise an online Job Fair and a physical job fair at Patna ( Abhishek Kumar Singh is owning these job fair project and more details will be shared later).
4) To Establish a Venture Capital Fund which will be called BIHAR ANGEL NETWORK (BAN) to promote, finance for excpansion or to finance seed capital to current and future BIHARI enteprenuers.
Atul (http://www.facebook.com/atultech) and I have agreed to take a lead and any one of you can join in this initiative. BAN will be promoted as a company and any one willing to contribute towards the Fund will be a shareholder. Corporate and other structure will be shared with the interested members on one to one basis. Since we are very particulat about success of the BAN, we would be very selective in choosing our shareholders…a committment and passion for doing something good for Bihar should be Paramount.
TO start with we have committed following amounts and I am listing it below: If any one of you would like to chip in as shareholder in the Venture Fund ( BAN) then please feel free to add your name and the seed capital you would like to put.
1) Atul Kumar – USD 5000
2) Santosh Pandey – USD 5000
The Idea is to start with a seed capital of USD 100K and grow from there. We are also in touch with some Angel Investor and might get some big or moderate funding to start with.
If you want any more details on any of the above matters please feel free to get in touch with :
1) Ankit
2) Atul
3) Naveen
Santosh Pandey
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Himalayan Times : Bihar´s economic boom and its Impact on Nepal
Until the mid-twentieth century, Nepal had a closed economy. The cottage and small industries owned by the private sector, particularly the households of Newars, Gurungs, Rais and Sherpas, were confined to the production of handloom cloths to meet the demands of the local people. Import was rare/limited from India in order to meet the demand of refined cloth and other luxurious goods for the elites. People in general were confined to using home-produced goods. Almost all the goods used in every day life were produced and consumed locally. However, with the changing times, the requirements of the people are being met through imported goods from India as well as China.
There are, however, a few industries that have been established in the Terai belt of Nepal to produce sophisticated goods with a view to chase the growing demands of the people of Nepal. The goods produced by these industries have a wide market, even covering the North-East part of India along with the entire market of Nepal. In the past, tt had been because of the presence of depressing environment to establish industries in Bihar, a northern most populous state of India. This had also encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to invest their capital in the development of industrial sector of Nepal with a view to catering goods and services required by the people of both Bihar and Nepal. As a result, industrial establishments were mushrooming in the Tarai earlier. But, today things are entirely different. Bihar is converting into a lovely place, with greater optimism. Indian entrepreneurs have started to invest in Bihar. Parallel industrial enterprises have begun to operate in recent years with greater capability. The result has been that the Nepalese industries are in for dire straits.
It may be worthwhile to refer to a relevant THT article (March 2, 2011) that had analyzed the adverse impact of high economic growth rate of Bihar on the employment and production in the Nepalese industrial sector. It has reported that some of the industries located in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor (SMIC) have been facing a shortage of industrial labor as their workers prefer to work across the border.
In my earlier article some time back, I had dwelt on the rapid economic development of Bihar. The article had highlighted the miraculous development of Bihar which has been achieved in a short span of time, but not associated with the implications of Bihar’s economic boom on the Nepalese economy.
The southern Terai plain, adjoining Bihar, is the place where almost all industrial enterprises are concentrated. Since the past few years, Bihar has been posting a high economic growth rate. It facilitates all the economic sectors to grow and develop. This has significant implications on the production and employment in the Nepalese economy.
The products of Nepal would be of lower quality in comparison with the goods produced in Bihar. Similar is the case of per unit cost of production. There is a significant difference between the earnings of laborers in Nepal and Bihar with those in the latter earning significantly more than in the former. That is to say, the wages of industrial labor within a distance of less than 100 kilometer from Nepal differ significantly. The probable impact of this on the industrial output will be extraordinary by all means.
The production of selected five industries has been declining as a result of labor shortage. It is obvious that they are not operating to full capacity because of human resources crunch. It has been reported that the said industries are facing a shortage on an average of above 60 persons per day as the laborers are migrating to Bihar. That does not augur well for the industries in the country. The average daily production has declined from more than 24 tonnes in 2007/08 to 13 tonnes in 2010/11. According to Morang Industry Association data, SMIC has 50,000 working there, but it requires further 30,000 additional workers to be able to run to full capacity. The 450 industries in operation, are seeing their production drop to half of what it was a few years back.
Actually, this pushes us towards more dependence in terms of products we are consuming, and employment. It is not a new thing for us as we are witness to around a thousand Nepali people going abroad in search of employment—most of them are destined to be workers in foreign countries. Moreover, most of what we consume are also imported.
The historical trend of the labor movement and goods consumed has the same story. It is because the livelihood of the Nepalese has been dependent on employment in India. Only a small segment of our labor force earns its livelihood from industrial activities at home. The recent trend indicates that this segment of our labor force has also started to move towards Bihar because of better opportunity cost. If this trend continues, the industries which are still operating in the Terai might be compelled to suspend their activities.
In such a situation, the government needs to check migration of industrial workers to Bihar, by offering attractive plans and programs.
Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/
There are, however, a few industries that have been established in the Terai belt of Nepal to produce sophisticated goods with a view to chase the growing demands of the people of Nepal. The goods produced by these industries have a wide market, even covering the North-East part of India along with the entire market of Nepal. In the past, tt had been because of the presence of depressing environment to establish industries in Bihar, a northern most populous state of India. This had also encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to invest their capital in the development of industrial sector of Nepal with a view to catering goods and services required by the people of both Bihar and Nepal. As a result, industrial establishments were mushrooming in the Tarai earlier. But, today things are entirely different. Bihar is converting into a lovely place, with greater optimism. Indian entrepreneurs have started to invest in Bihar. Parallel industrial enterprises have begun to operate in recent years with greater capability. The result has been that the Nepalese industries are in for dire straits.
It may be worthwhile to refer to a relevant THT article (March 2, 2011) that had analyzed the adverse impact of high economic growth rate of Bihar on the employment and production in the Nepalese industrial sector. It has reported that some of the industries located in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor (SMIC) have been facing a shortage of industrial labor as their workers prefer to work across the border.
In my earlier article some time back, I had dwelt on the rapid economic development of Bihar. The article had highlighted the miraculous development of Bihar which has been achieved in a short span of time, but not associated with the implications of Bihar’s economic boom on the Nepalese economy.
The southern Terai plain, adjoining Bihar, is the place where almost all industrial enterprises are concentrated. Since the past few years, Bihar has been posting a high economic growth rate. It facilitates all the economic sectors to grow and develop. This has significant implications on the production and employment in the Nepalese economy.
The products of Nepal would be of lower quality in comparison with the goods produced in Bihar. Similar is the case of per unit cost of production. There is a significant difference between the earnings of laborers in Nepal and Bihar with those in the latter earning significantly more than in the former. That is to say, the wages of industrial labor within a distance of less than 100 kilometer from Nepal differ significantly. The probable impact of this on the industrial output will be extraordinary by all means.
The production of selected five industries has been declining as a result of labor shortage. It is obvious that they are not operating to full capacity because of human resources crunch. It has been reported that the said industries are facing a shortage on an average of above 60 persons per day as the laborers are migrating to Bihar. That does not augur well for the industries in the country. The average daily production has declined from more than 24 tonnes in 2007/08 to 13 tonnes in 2010/11. According to Morang Industry Association data, SMIC has 50,000 working there, but it requires further 30,000 additional workers to be able to run to full capacity. The 450 industries in operation, are seeing their production drop to half of what it was a few years back.
Actually, this pushes us towards more dependence in terms of products we are consuming, and employment. It is not a new thing for us as we are witness to around a thousand Nepali people going abroad in search of employment—most of them are destined to be workers in foreign countries. Moreover, most of what we consume are also imported.
The historical trend of the labor movement and goods consumed has the same story. It is because the livelihood of the Nepalese has been dependent on employment in India. Only a small segment of our labor force earns its livelihood from industrial activities at home. The recent trend indicates that this segment of our labor force has also started to move towards Bihar because of better opportunity cost. If this trend continues, the industries which are still operating in the Terai might be compelled to suspend their activities.
In such a situation, the government needs to check migration of industrial workers to Bihar, by offering attractive plans and programs.
Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Patna: P For Progress
Patna today is seen as a source of hope emerging at the grassroots, as individuals and organisations, including the government make efforts at creating a city with new commitments to bring in new vistas of opportunities, creating employment, adding colour, vision and value to every neighbourhood, business centres and the pathways that dot Bihar's capital city.
There is indeed some good news to begin with. The World Bank's Doing Business in India 2009 report has adjudged Bihar's capital city, Patna ahead of Mumbai and second only to New Delhi when it comes to launching a new business initiative.
In fact, Patna's rating is above Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata in the overall ranking for facilitating smooth business, says the World Bank Report.
title=
Kargil Chauk, Patna
In short, Patna appears promising. And even though the city still has promises to keep Patna today - the capital city of Bihar- means prosperity.
As we move towards 2010, Patna, located on the banks of Ganga, appears flooded with opportunities. The city is at the threshold of an economic renaissance, which has pushed up the paying capacity of the residents. Slowly but surely, Patna is emerging as a growth centre.
According to ASSOCHAM's study of the employment scenario in India between April and October 2009-10, Patna registered a growth of 20.52 percent in job creation.
Among the Tier II cities, Patna is placed behind Vishakapatnam (115.21 per cent), Indore (60.00 per cent), Bhubaneswar (49.49 per cent), and Jaipur (28.74 per cent) and is registering major growth in job creation during April to October 2009-10 as compare to the same period in 2008-09.
The ranking assumes special significance since cities like Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana have witnesses a decline in job creation by 26.68 per cent, 9.60 per cent, 6.27 per cent and 3.94 per cent, respectively.
Prosperity indeed is writ large on Patna roads. The rise in number of vehicles plying on Patna roads is a huge indicator to this effect.
In the last one year, there has been a growth of 39 percent in private vehicles and 67 percent rise in the commercial vehicles plying across Patna.
In 2008-09, a total of 21,594 vehicles were registered. The number shot up to 30,229 by October 2009. 3,008 passenger vehicles were registered in 2008-09, which shot up to 5,025 till October.
In fact, Patna -- where the number of vehicles in 2007 was 1.75 lakh -- today is bustling with 2.93 lakh vehicles till October 2009 -- a rise by 67 percent in just two years.
The general perception suggests that a big thrust on development has given Bihar the forward momentum, besides increasing the money volume in the market, which has resulted in a corresponding rise in the purchasing power.
Things are looking up in Patna. The last few years have seen families having late dinner at restaurants. The shopping outlets in downtown Patna are chock-a-block, and the real estate business is booming while commanding a never before price tag in the city.
This is, however, just part of the story. Patna needs to expand, as the existing city just does not have a matching infrastructure ready to accommodate everything that the city currently has.
Patna is struggling in terms of infrastructure strength, which is inadequate to cater to the growing population. It desperately needs more flyovers, better roads and end of water-logging to join the big league of developed cities.
Several foreign financial institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank have offered to help Bihar towards infrastructure development under the urban development ministry.
In fact, the existing infrastructure in terms of roads and space is so grimly inadequate that the Patna High Court recently asked the Government of Bihar to speed up the decision-making process on the proposed master plan for the State Capital.
While hearing a PIL on illegal apartments, the HC also suggested the Urban development Department to take steps for developing areas adjoining Patna to ease pressure on the State capital.
The good news is that the Urban Development Department has plans to develop Maner and Fatuha as satellite towns and also improves Hajipur and Sonepur in order to shift the population pressure coming to Patna urban area.
The Patna Regional Development Authority (PRDA) has charted out a plan to this effect, although the pace of its implementation has left a lot to be desired.
In fact, if the authorities including the city planners succeed in developing Patna in accordance with the requirements of time, the capital of Bihar will surely be a place to watch in the coming future.
The Patna Urban Agglomeration Area had a population of 16.98 lakhs as per the 2001 Census while the municipal corporation area of Patna had a population of 13.66 lakh (2001 Census).
The population of the Urban Agglomeration Area is expected to be 22.50 lakhs in the year 2011 and 28.01 lakhs in the year 2021. In addition the floating population who commute from districts to the Patna Urban Agglomeration Area each day is expected to be 3.00 lakhs by 2021 against around 2.00 lakhs at present.
In the years to come the existing planned residential area of 8938 hectares would go up to 14,609.57 hectares in another decade. At present, the planned residential area in Patna is 641 hectares while for apartments it is 242 hectares.
By 2021, the face of the city will change dramatically. There are plans of expanding the residential area to 8014.70 hectares. Correspondingly, the commercial space will go up to 514.9 hectares whereas 1073.91 hectares of space is to be earmarked for community space.
In addition to this, over 3000 hectares of green land, 1709.44 hectares of internal roads and 88.74 hectares of infrastructure area are to be created.
The authorities have planned to increase the areas for clubs, cinema halls, theatres, parks and playgrounds to 990 hectares from the existing 224 hectares.
Similarly in a decade to come, efforts would be made to reduce the existing land occupied by administrative offices of the government, educational and medical institutions, religious, archaeological and historical sites and graveyards and cremation ghats -- which is currently over 691 hectares There will be 800 hectares of 30 and 20-metre wide roads.
The area for clubs, cinema halls, theatres, parks and playgrounds is to be increased from 224 to over 990 hectares. There is a proposal for 60 metre-wide roads in Patna occupying a space of over 681.98 hectares,
All this, however, is yet to happen. But, the plan surely gives an idea that a focussed development and expansion of Patna is on the cards.
Being surrounded by three rivers, Patna also has a constraint of growth on the northern side due to River Ganga, southern side due to River Punpun and eastern due to Sone.
Moreover the topography of Patna is like a saucer due to the surrounding three rivers and thus drainage of the city poses as a major problem and pumping of water our seems to be the only solution at present. The city is also prone to flooding.
The Human Development Index (HDI) in Patna, however, needs some focussed thrust. The HDI is the more widely used means of measuring well being, which takes into account additional indicators like per capita income, along with life expectancy and literacy rate of a society.
Life expectancy in Bihar is 61 years, almost on par with the national life expectancy of 62.7 years. Patna's capita gross district domestic product of Rs 31,441. Patna also has the highest per capita saving in the state at Rs 675, highest per-capita fuel consumption and the highest per capita income at Rs 6,958.
Across the state, the city also has highest per capita spending share on health and education (in 2006-07) at Rs 674 and Rs 5,633. The literacy rate of Patna Urban Agglomeration area is 68.9%, which is higher than the literacy rate of the State i.e. 47.53%.
The state government also appears to making some concentrated efforts by increased expenditure on social services to improve the HDI (Human Development Indices). There are attempts at providing better access to basic education, health services, safe drinking water, sanitation, housing etc.
In Bihar, the total expenditure on social services in 2008 has gone up to Rs 10666 crore (35 percent salary component), which is up from 4197 crore of 2003-04.
It includes health and family welfare, water supply, sanitation, housing and urban development, education, sports, arts & culture and other social services.
In fact, in 2007-08, the total expenditure on social services was more than one third of the total expenditure and 48 percent of the total development expenditure.
These efforts may positively impact the ground situation, as Bihar has been at the lowest position among the major states in India in 1981, 1991 and 2001. The same pattern is replete in its ranking with respect to Per Capita Income.
The spin offs of the prosperity is also visible across the board with Patna people expressing a pronounced consumer behaviour with larger disposable income.
The megatrend of consumerism is revamping Patna's economic structure, besides fuelling business growth in the city. Similarly, the retail industry here is also developing fast with improving business environment and rising income levels.
No wonder, Patna has also caught the attention of real estate developers, and a number of projects in both the segments of commercial and residential are underway.
However, the demands for space have come from sectors like banking, insurance, finance, telecom, coaching and educational institutes etc. According to an estimate, more than 10 million sq ft structure is being created to meet the demand.
Patna has also witnessed a huge influx of business organisations coming to the city, while the existing ones have been on an expansion mode thus generating hundreds of jobs in the private sector.
Advantage of cost is one big factor that makes Patna a preferred destination for business and real estate activities. At times when capital values at metros go as high as Rs 30,000 per sq ft, prices here are seemingly moderate.
In terms of retail business, although many big names are yet to set up shops in Patna but huge departmental stores like Vishal Mega Mart, Patliputra Shoppers Plaza, and Khetan Super Market have already emerged successful in drawing huge number of consumers.
Quite a few mall-cum-multiplexes are also likely to come up in a year time at Patna. These malls will have exclusive shops, showrooms and offices, besides silver screens with excellent acoustics, coffee house, and food court, with escalators and capsule lift.
From a production Market focussed on rest of the country, Patna is turning into an equally good consumption market much more focussed on selling to itself.
Clearly, what's happening in Patna is by far the most important development in Bihar. The policy makers want to develop Patna for rest of the state to follow. Patna has begun its journey.
SWOT Analysis
Strength: Advantage of large labour force. Well developed service sector. In fact, the Economy is witnessing a shift towards services, much before industrialisation, mostly driven by a buoyant urban economy
Weakness: Unavailability of land
Opportunity: Huge potential for tourism, as the city has a large variety of historical monuments (Like Golghar) from Maurya to Gupta age and down to the Colonial British Rule. It is the gateway to the Buddhist & Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri.
Patna can also develop as a major education centre. New centres of Indian Institute of Technology and National Institute of Fashion Technology are already here, besides an extension centre of BIT Mesra and a good business school, Chandragupta Institute of Management.
Threat: Poor infrastructure, poor HDI in addition to a negative sex ratio 873 female against 1000 males.
The Biggest Brand: There are many in Patna. But all debates over being the biggest brand in Patna stands settled with Hotel Maurya, which stands heads and shoulders above others.
Set up in 1978, Hotel Maurya, Patna, is a pioneering project of Bihar Hotels Limited (BHL) that has generated foreign exchange for the state of over Rs. 34 million. Located on a two and a half acre plot in the prime commercial area of Patna, the Maurya hasl almost everything -- food outlets, four conference, banquet facilities, swimming pool, gym -- to make it a complete experience.
There is indeed some good news to begin with. The World Bank's Doing Business in India 2009 report has adjudged Bihar's capital city, Patna ahead of Mumbai and second only to New Delhi when it comes to launching a new business initiative.
In fact, Patna's rating is above Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata in the overall ranking for facilitating smooth business, says the World Bank Report.
title=
Kargil Chauk, Patna
In short, Patna appears promising. And even though the city still has promises to keep Patna today - the capital city of Bihar- means prosperity.
As we move towards 2010, Patna, located on the banks of Ganga, appears flooded with opportunities. The city is at the threshold of an economic renaissance, which has pushed up the paying capacity of the residents. Slowly but surely, Patna is emerging as a growth centre.
According to ASSOCHAM's study of the employment scenario in India between April and October 2009-10, Patna registered a growth of 20.52 percent in job creation.
Among the Tier II cities, Patna is placed behind Vishakapatnam (115.21 per cent), Indore (60.00 per cent), Bhubaneswar (49.49 per cent), and Jaipur (28.74 per cent) and is registering major growth in job creation during April to October 2009-10 as compare to the same period in 2008-09.
The ranking assumes special significance since cities like Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana have witnesses a decline in job creation by 26.68 per cent, 9.60 per cent, 6.27 per cent and 3.94 per cent, respectively.
Prosperity indeed is writ large on Patna roads. The rise in number of vehicles plying on Patna roads is a huge indicator to this effect.
In the last one year, there has been a growth of 39 percent in private vehicles and 67 percent rise in the commercial vehicles plying across Patna.
In 2008-09, a total of 21,594 vehicles were registered. The number shot up to 30,229 by October 2009. 3,008 passenger vehicles were registered in 2008-09, which shot up to 5,025 till October.
In fact, Patna -- where the number of vehicles in 2007 was 1.75 lakh -- today is bustling with 2.93 lakh vehicles till October 2009 -- a rise by 67 percent in just two years.
The general perception suggests that a big thrust on development has given Bihar the forward momentum, besides increasing the money volume in the market, which has resulted in a corresponding rise in the purchasing power.
Things are looking up in Patna. The last few years have seen families having late dinner at restaurants. The shopping outlets in downtown Patna are chock-a-block, and the real estate business is booming while commanding a never before price tag in the city.
This is, however, just part of the story. Patna needs to expand, as the existing city just does not have a matching infrastructure ready to accommodate everything that the city currently has.
Patna is struggling in terms of infrastructure strength, which is inadequate to cater to the growing population. It desperately needs more flyovers, better roads and end of water-logging to join the big league of developed cities.
Several foreign financial institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank have offered to help Bihar towards infrastructure development under the urban development ministry.
In fact, the existing infrastructure in terms of roads and space is so grimly inadequate that the Patna High Court recently asked the Government of Bihar to speed up the decision-making process on the proposed master plan for the State Capital.
While hearing a PIL on illegal apartments, the HC also suggested the Urban development Department to take steps for developing areas adjoining Patna to ease pressure on the State capital.
The good news is that the Urban Development Department has plans to develop Maner and Fatuha as satellite towns and also improves Hajipur and Sonepur in order to shift the population pressure coming to Patna urban area.
The Patna Regional Development Authority (PRDA) has charted out a plan to this effect, although the pace of its implementation has left a lot to be desired.
In fact, if the authorities including the city planners succeed in developing Patna in accordance with the requirements of time, the capital of Bihar will surely be a place to watch in the coming future.
The Patna Urban Agglomeration Area had a population of 16.98 lakhs as per the 2001 Census while the municipal corporation area of Patna had a population of 13.66 lakh (2001 Census).
The population of the Urban Agglomeration Area is expected to be 22.50 lakhs in the year 2011 and 28.01 lakhs in the year 2021. In addition the floating population who commute from districts to the Patna Urban Agglomeration Area each day is expected to be 3.00 lakhs by 2021 against around 2.00 lakhs at present.
In the years to come the existing planned residential area of 8938 hectares would go up to 14,609.57 hectares in another decade. At present, the planned residential area in Patna is 641 hectares while for apartments it is 242 hectares.
By 2021, the face of the city will change dramatically. There are plans of expanding the residential area to 8014.70 hectares. Correspondingly, the commercial space will go up to 514.9 hectares whereas 1073.91 hectares of space is to be earmarked for community space.
In addition to this, over 3000 hectares of green land, 1709.44 hectares of internal roads and 88.74 hectares of infrastructure area are to be created.
The authorities have planned to increase the areas for clubs, cinema halls, theatres, parks and playgrounds to 990 hectares from the existing 224 hectares.
Similarly in a decade to come, efforts would be made to reduce the existing land occupied by administrative offices of the government, educational and medical institutions, religious, archaeological and historical sites and graveyards and cremation ghats -- which is currently over 691 hectares There will be 800 hectares of 30 and 20-metre wide roads.
The area for clubs, cinema halls, theatres, parks and playgrounds is to be increased from 224 to over 990 hectares. There is a proposal for 60 metre-wide roads in Patna occupying a space of over 681.98 hectares,
All this, however, is yet to happen. But, the plan surely gives an idea that a focussed development and expansion of Patna is on the cards.
Being surrounded by three rivers, Patna also has a constraint of growth on the northern side due to River Ganga, southern side due to River Punpun and eastern due to Sone.
Moreover the topography of Patna is like a saucer due to the surrounding three rivers and thus drainage of the city poses as a major problem and pumping of water our seems to be the only solution at present. The city is also prone to flooding.
The Human Development Index (HDI) in Patna, however, needs some focussed thrust. The HDI is the more widely used means of measuring well being, which takes into account additional indicators like per capita income, along with life expectancy and literacy rate of a society.
Life expectancy in Bihar is 61 years, almost on par with the national life expectancy of 62.7 years. Patna's capita gross district domestic product of Rs 31,441. Patna also has the highest per capita saving in the state at Rs 675, highest per-capita fuel consumption and the highest per capita income at Rs 6,958.
Across the state, the city also has highest per capita spending share on health and education (in 2006-07) at Rs 674 and Rs 5,633. The literacy rate of Patna Urban Agglomeration area is 68.9%, which is higher than the literacy rate of the State i.e. 47.53%.
The state government also appears to making some concentrated efforts by increased expenditure on social services to improve the HDI (Human Development Indices). There are attempts at providing better access to basic education, health services, safe drinking water, sanitation, housing etc.
In Bihar, the total expenditure on social services in 2008 has gone up to Rs 10666 crore (35 percent salary component), which is up from 4197 crore of 2003-04.
It includes health and family welfare, water supply, sanitation, housing and urban development, education, sports, arts & culture and other social services.
In fact, in 2007-08, the total expenditure on social services was more than one third of the total expenditure and 48 percent of the total development expenditure.
These efforts may positively impact the ground situation, as Bihar has been at the lowest position among the major states in India in 1981, 1991 and 2001. The same pattern is replete in its ranking with respect to Per Capita Income.
The spin offs of the prosperity is also visible across the board with Patna people expressing a pronounced consumer behaviour with larger disposable income.
The megatrend of consumerism is revamping Patna's economic structure, besides fuelling business growth in the city. Similarly, the retail industry here is also developing fast with improving business environment and rising income levels.
No wonder, Patna has also caught the attention of real estate developers, and a number of projects in both the segments of commercial and residential are underway.
However, the demands for space have come from sectors like banking, insurance, finance, telecom, coaching and educational institutes etc. According to an estimate, more than 10 million sq ft structure is being created to meet the demand.
Patna has also witnessed a huge influx of business organisations coming to the city, while the existing ones have been on an expansion mode thus generating hundreds of jobs in the private sector.
Advantage of cost is one big factor that makes Patna a preferred destination for business and real estate activities. At times when capital values at metros go as high as Rs 30,000 per sq ft, prices here are seemingly moderate.
In terms of retail business, although many big names are yet to set up shops in Patna but huge departmental stores like Vishal Mega Mart, Patliputra Shoppers Plaza, and Khetan Super Market have already emerged successful in drawing huge number of consumers.
Quite a few mall-cum-multiplexes are also likely to come up in a year time at Patna. These malls will have exclusive shops, showrooms and offices, besides silver screens with excellent acoustics, coffee house, and food court, with escalators and capsule lift.
From a production Market focussed on rest of the country, Patna is turning into an equally good consumption market much more focussed on selling to itself.
Clearly, what's happening in Patna is by far the most important development in Bihar. The policy makers want to develop Patna for rest of the state to follow. Patna has begun its journey.
SWOT Analysis
Strength: Advantage of large labour force. Well developed service sector. In fact, the Economy is witnessing a shift towards services, much before industrialisation, mostly driven by a buoyant urban economy
Weakness: Unavailability of land
Opportunity: Huge potential for tourism, as the city has a large variety of historical monuments (Like Golghar) from Maurya to Gupta age and down to the Colonial British Rule. It is the gateway to the Buddhist & Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri.
Patna can also develop as a major education centre. New centres of Indian Institute of Technology and National Institute of Fashion Technology are already here, besides an extension centre of BIT Mesra and a good business school, Chandragupta Institute of Management.
Threat: Poor infrastructure, poor HDI in addition to a negative sex ratio 873 female against 1000 males.
The Biggest Brand: There are many in Patna. But all debates over being the biggest brand in Patna stands settled with Hotel Maurya, which stands heads and shoulders above others.
Set up in 1978, Hotel Maurya, Patna, is a pioneering project of Bihar Hotels Limited (BHL) that has generated foreign exchange for the state of over Rs. 34 million. Located on a two and a half acre plot in the prime commercial area of Patna, the Maurya hasl almost everything -- food outlets, four conference, banquet facilities, swimming pool, gym -- to make it a complete experience.
Nitish’s A-team: Bihari babus show their mettle
Many in Bihar say Pratyay Amrit’s name should be entered into Guinness World Records for helming a sick corporation which built the highest
number of road bridges in a year. As Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam's CMD, this 1991-batch IAS officer oversaw completion of 259 major bridge projects in three years since 2006. In view of its success, the nigam has now been given responsibilities like road and hospital construction, among other things. “Now we are out of debt, making handsome profits and are also spending crores on philanthropy as part of our CSR (corporate social responsibility),” a nigam official says.
Pratyay delivered. So have others in chief minister Nitish Kumar’s A-team, who were chosen for their competence. Earlier as principal secretary (finance) and now as development commissioner, Navin Kumar has been the chief strategist in financial matters. Known for his sobriety, the 1975-batch IAS officer is the man behind the state’s budget drafts and also the all-important memorandum to the finance commission. He also heads the State Investment Planning Board, formed by the Nitish government to attract investment. The board mobilized proposals worth Rs 96,000 crore in just three years.
R K Singh was the builder during the initial years of the Nitish regime. Currently secretary (defence production) at
the Centre, the 1975-batch officer was the architect of the development of the state’s road network as principal secretary, road construction.
Madan Mohan Jha was specially brought in from central deputation. As HRD boss, he initiated the move to recruit over two lakh teachers on contract. He also conceptualized several other projects. After his untimely death in 2007, Anjani Kumar Singh has been brought in as HRD principal secretary to complete his unfinished work.
While Deepak Kumar managed the key health department for the first three years, Afzal Amanullah's three-year tenure as home secretary is still remembered for the bold initiative to rein in criminals, including politicians of Nitish’s JD(U). The 1979-batch officer now looks after urban development.
Anup Mukherjee, as rural development department head, supervised implementation of poverty alleviation schemes, including NREGA, and won accolades for the state even from the Centre. The 1974-batch officer, who believes in working quietly, is the state’s chief secretary today.
Bureaucrat-turned-MP N K Singh is also an important player in Nitish's team. Not only does he give ideas to the CM, but he is also credited with successfully showcasing Bihar in the country and abroad.
BACKROOM BOYS : During the Lalu-Rabri regime, a single bureaucrat called the shots at the CM’s office. The change of guard brought a tech-savvy team to manage the affairs. Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, 52, the CM’s principal secretary, has been associated with Nitish Kumar since 1998 when the latter was railway minister. Both Nitish and RCP, a 1984-batch IAS officer of UP cadre, are from Nalanda and belong to the same caste. Insiders say Nitish treats RCP like a family member.
Nitish also banks heavily on S Siddharth (1991 batch) and Chanchal Kumar (1992 batch). As secretaries to the CM, they coordinate with principal secretaries of various departments and oversee implementation of welfare and development programmes. Siddharth, from Tamil Nadu, is a BTech and has attended advanced courses at IIM-Ahmedabad. Chanchal, an MTech, has also studied micro-finance in the US.
There’s a clear division of work. While Siddharth looks after infrastructure departments like road, building, urban development and energy, Chanchal has been assigned social sector departments like education, health, social welfare and disaster management.
number of road bridges in a year. As Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam's CMD, this 1991-batch IAS officer oversaw completion of 259 major bridge projects in three years since 2006. In view of its success, the nigam has now been given responsibilities like road and hospital construction, among other things. “Now we are out of debt, making handsome profits and are also spending crores on philanthropy as part of our CSR (corporate social responsibility),” a nigam official says.
Pratyay delivered. So have others in chief minister Nitish Kumar’s A-team, who were chosen for their competence. Earlier as principal secretary (finance) and now as development commissioner, Navin Kumar has been the chief strategist in financial matters. Known for his sobriety, the 1975-batch IAS officer is the man behind the state’s budget drafts and also the all-important memorandum to the finance commission. He also heads the State Investment Planning Board, formed by the Nitish government to attract investment. The board mobilized proposals worth Rs 96,000 crore in just three years.
R K Singh was the builder during the initial years of the Nitish regime. Currently secretary (defence production) at
the Centre, the 1975-batch officer was the architect of the development of the state’s road network as principal secretary, road construction.
Madan Mohan Jha was specially brought in from central deputation. As HRD boss, he initiated the move to recruit over two lakh teachers on contract. He also conceptualized several other projects. After his untimely death in 2007, Anjani Kumar Singh has been brought in as HRD principal secretary to complete his unfinished work.
While Deepak Kumar managed the key health department for the first three years, Afzal Amanullah's three-year tenure as home secretary is still remembered for the bold initiative to rein in criminals, including politicians of Nitish’s JD(U). The 1979-batch officer now looks after urban development.
Anup Mukherjee, as rural development department head, supervised implementation of poverty alleviation schemes, including NREGA, and won accolades for the state even from the Centre. The 1974-batch officer, who believes in working quietly, is the state’s chief secretary today.
Bureaucrat-turned-MP N K Singh is also an important player in Nitish's team. Not only does he give ideas to the CM, but he is also credited with successfully showcasing Bihar in the country and abroad.
BACKROOM BOYS : During the Lalu-Rabri regime, a single bureaucrat called the shots at the CM’s office. The change of guard brought a tech-savvy team to manage the affairs. Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, 52, the CM’s principal secretary, has been associated with Nitish Kumar since 1998 when the latter was railway minister. Both Nitish and RCP, a 1984-batch IAS officer of UP cadre, are from Nalanda and belong to the same caste. Insiders say Nitish treats RCP like a family member.
Nitish also banks heavily on S Siddharth (1991 batch) and Chanchal Kumar (1992 batch). As secretaries to the CM, they coordinate with principal secretaries of various departments and oversee implementation of welfare and development programmes. Siddharth, from Tamil Nadu, is a BTech and has attended advanced courses at IIM-Ahmedabad. Chanchal, an MTech, has also studied micro-finance in the US.
There’s a clear division of work. While Siddharth looks after infrastructure departments like road, building, urban development and energy, Chanchal has been assigned social sector departments like education, health, social welfare and disaster management.
Pride and Prejudice
Who carries you on a rickshaw or an autorickshaw in Delhi? Biharis. Who drives the cars of Delhiites? Biharis. Who built the Delhi Metro? Biharis. (You may not agree with the last one.)
Who is building the new houses and the expanding suburbs of Delhi? Biharis. Who made Punjab the most prosperous state in the country? The answer again is Biharis. (Here too you may not agree.)
The credit for building the Delhi Metro or making Punjab prosperous will never go to Biharis. Does anyone ever say that blacks built America?
In colonial days, Bihar supplied the girmitiya, or indentured, labourers who built countries like Mauritius, Suriname and Fiji. A bulk of the labour employed in the Raj capital of Calcutta came from Bihar. After Independence Bihari workers flocked to places like Delhi, Punjab and Mumbai.
At the same time, Biharis excelled in other fields. Many became great political leaders, ICS and IAS officers, scientists, doctors, engineers, writers and artists. Delhi and other Indian cities attracted huge white-collar Bihari populations and Biharis formed a large part of the Indian diaspora of professionals.
But in the eyes of the rest of India, “Bihari” had come to mean a labourer, a person doing menial jobs. It had become a term of scorn and contempt. In their anglicized lingo, places like Delhi University turned the word into “Harry”, but the pejorative tone remained unmistakable.
Heaping scorn on the working classes is a universal phenomenon. That is how words like Negro, Paki (used for Pakistanis and Indians in Britain) and some of the words denoting dalit castes in India earned contemptuous connotations.
In fact, while Biharis were getting their hands dirty on Punjab’s farms, Punjabis were migrating in hordes to the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Never mind that they would take up blue-collar jobs as taxi drivers, petrol pump attendants and waiters in those faraway lands.
As the years passed, many of the Biharis who had come to Punjab or Mumbai as manual labourers started moving up the economic ladder as did the blue-collar Indian emigrants abroad. A usually unnoticed aspect of the so-called racial attacks against Indians abroad is the threat the rise of working classes poses to the entrenched social order. This accentuates the contempt they face. From this angle, the attacks on Biharis in Punjab, and Mumbai, and the attacks on Indians abroad are manifestations of the same phenomenon.
What stopped Biharis from bringing about a green revolution or building a Metro in Bihar? The answer is geography and history. Geography, because ravaged by floods, the land of Bihar was unable to feed its growing population. And history, because what was the centre of the biggest Indian empire in ancient times was reduced to an obscure provincial existence. The skewed landownership system introduced by the British rulers worsened the situation.
Things could have improved after Independence had the political leadership of Bihar been able to exert influence on the rulers in New Delhi to get enough funds for development projects and set off a process of industry in the state.
On the contrary, Bihar continued to live the same, conveniently ignored, provincial existence. A system built on casteism, nepotism, corruption and crime came to dominate the state. It spawned a neo-rich class of netas, babus, contractors and government engineers who would build palatial houses for themselves with the money meant for dams, power projects, ration for the poor or even fodder for cattle.
The money meant for roads and public amenities would go into their bank accounts. No wonder, the roads in front of those houses would be full of ditches and become the playground of pigs every monsoon.
With limited options of higher education and hardly any employment opportunities in the state, the youth of Bihar started looking out. They flooded places like Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. They started dominating the country’s toughest competitions like the IIT-JEE and the civil services exam. With this success, Biharis started believing they had the best brains. The world began to grudgingly acknowledge their capabilities.
Academic success, however, did not do much to rid the word “Bihari” of the scorn it had gathered. People in Delhi continued to laugh at those who spoke with a Bihari accent. Those without an accent would get this compliment: “Oh, you are from Bihar? But you don’t sound like a Bihari.”
Biharis, meanwhile, were retreating into a shell, with little but the historic glory of Buddha, Mahavira, Chandragupta, Chanakya, Ashoka, Aryabhatta, Guru Gobind Singh and Sher Shah to bask in. Now comes 11% growth. The state can recover from the damage it has suffered over hundreds of years only if such a high rate of growth can be sustained for many, many years. Then Biharis would not have to till others' land or build cities and countries elsewhere.
Who is building the new houses and the expanding suburbs of Delhi? Biharis. Who made Punjab the most prosperous state in the country? The answer again is Biharis. (Here too you may not agree.)
The credit for building the Delhi Metro or making Punjab prosperous will never go to Biharis. Does anyone ever say that blacks built America?
In colonial days, Bihar supplied the girmitiya, or indentured, labourers who built countries like Mauritius, Suriname and Fiji. A bulk of the labour employed in the Raj capital of Calcutta came from Bihar. After Independence Bihari workers flocked to places like Delhi, Punjab and Mumbai.
At the same time, Biharis excelled in other fields. Many became great political leaders, ICS and IAS officers, scientists, doctors, engineers, writers and artists. Delhi and other Indian cities attracted huge white-collar Bihari populations and Biharis formed a large part of the Indian diaspora of professionals.
But in the eyes of the rest of India, “Bihari” had come to mean a labourer, a person doing menial jobs. It had become a term of scorn and contempt. In their anglicized lingo, places like Delhi University turned the word into “Harry”, but the pejorative tone remained unmistakable.
Heaping scorn on the working classes is a universal phenomenon. That is how words like Negro, Paki (used for Pakistanis and Indians in Britain) and some of the words denoting dalit castes in India earned contemptuous connotations.
In fact, while Biharis were getting their hands dirty on Punjab’s farms, Punjabis were migrating in hordes to the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Never mind that they would take up blue-collar jobs as taxi drivers, petrol pump attendants and waiters in those faraway lands.
As the years passed, many of the Biharis who had come to Punjab or Mumbai as manual labourers started moving up the economic ladder as did the blue-collar Indian emigrants abroad. A usually unnoticed aspect of the so-called racial attacks against Indians abroad is the threat the rise of working classes poses to the entrenched social order. This accentuates the contempt they face. From this angle, the attacks on Biharis in Punjab, and Mumbai, and the attacks on Indians abroad are manifestations of the same phenomenon.
What stopped Biharis from bringing about a green revolution or building a Metro in Bihar? The answer is geography and history. Geography, because ravaged by floods, the land of Bihar was unable to feed its growing population. And history, because what was the centre of the biggest Indian empire in ancient times was reduced to an obscure provincial existence. The skewed landownership system introduced by the British rulers worsened the situation.
Things could have improved after Independence had the political leadership of Bihar been able to exert influence on the rulers in New Delhi to get enough funds for development projects and set off a process of industry in the state.
On the contrary, Bihar continued to live the same, conveniently ignored, provincial existence. A system built on casteism, nepotism, corruption and crime came to dominate the state. It spawned a neo-rich class of netas, babus, contractors and government engineers who would build palatial houses for themselves with the money meant for dams, power projects, ration for the poor or even fodder for cattle.
The money meant for roads and public amenities would go into their bank accounts. No wonder, the roads in front of those houses would be full of ditches and become the playground of pigs every monsoon.
With limited options of higher education and hardly any employment opportunities in the state, the youth of Bihar started looking out. They flooded places like Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. They started dominating the country’s toughest competitions like the IIT-JEE and the civil services exam. With this success, Biharis started believing they had the best brains. The world began to grudgingly acknowledge their capabilities.
Academic success, however, did not do much to rid the word “Bihari” of the scorn it had gathered. People in Delhi continued to laugh at those who spoke with a Bihari accent. Those without an accent would get this compliment: “Oh, you are from Bihar? But you don’t sound like a Bihari.”
Biharis, meanwhile, were retreating into a shell, with little but the historic glory of Buddha, Mahavira, Chandragupta, Chanakya, Ashoka, Aryabhatta, Guru Gobind Singh and Sher Shah to bask in. Now comes 11% growth. The state can recover from the damage it has suffered over hundreds of years only if such a high rate of growth can be sustained for many, many years. Then Biharis would not have to till others' land or build cities and countries elsewhere.
Bihar, a growth story
Roads “as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks” was a promise that Lalu Yadav had once given to the people of Bihar. Ironically, it is his rival Nitish
Kumar who seems to be delivering on that front. Despite three years of floods followed by a year of drought, ‘backward and benighted’ Bihar reports a miraculous figure: 11% GDP growth, second only to Gujarat. The state’s economy has never grown so fast so consistently as it has since 2004-2005. A few pointers on what’s going right in Bihar:
* Getting anywhere in Bihar has always been an exercise in endurance. But that’s changing. More than 6,800 km of roads have been relaid and 1,600 bridges and culverts constructed in the last four years. Journey time in India’s 12th largest state, sprawling over 94,163 sq km, has been cut by half today in many places. Now, most of the state’s 38 districts — from northernmost West Champaran to Kaimur on the western end — are a drive of six hours or less from Patna.
* Automobile sales in the state grew 45% in 2009, at a time when sales had dipped 20-25% in several other states during the economic slowdown. Is this buying spree an indication that a section of Biharis have more money to splurge than they did earlier? “A few people had money earlier too, but they didn’t flaunt it for fear of attracting extortionists and kidnappers,” says Ranjit Singh, director of a high-end Patna hotel. That fear may have evaporated now.
* Only 317 kidnappings for ransom were reported during the last four years as against 1,393 during the previous four. The kidnapping industry has clearly fallen on hard times. One indication of this is that doctors no longer refuse to go to patients’ homes on emergency calls. “Today you can see boards at clinics saying we go on calls,” says Dr Amulya Kumar Singh, who runs a nursing home in Patna.
* Most of Bihar’s infamous dons are behind bars. That includes Mohd Shahabuddin, the former RJD MP who had once gone live on TV, daring the state police chief to arrest him. Things are a little different now. A ruling JD(U) MLA, Sunil Pandey, attempted an encore of sorts in early 2006 when he brandished a revolver and talked murder on TV. But Pandey found himself behind bars within no time. Speedy trials have ensured a total of 38,824 convictions between 2006 and September 2009.The convicts included dons and their henchmen.
* Gun-toting strongmen are no longer a common sight on the streets of Bihar. Policemen patrol them now. And places like Siwan, where Shahabuddin once held sway, do not get deserted after dusk.
This improvement has shown results. Malls, shops and private educational institutions are coming up. So are mobile service providers and banking firms. It’s boom time for real estate with apartment buildings coming up all around. “That’s because even non-Biharis for a change want to have a foot in Bihar which has become a better place to live in,” says economist Shaibal Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute. Adds Faizal Alam of Kalyanpur Cements, “Cement inflow to the state went up 18% to 51 lakh tonnes in 2008-09.” That’s an indicator of the construction boom.
Ironically, this economic growth has happened without any worthwhile contribution from the manufacturing sector. The state’s economy is growing because of a boom in agriculture and services sectors. “It’s government-induced growth,” admits Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president S P Sinha. According to former BIA president K P S Keshri, private investments in the manufacturing sector have been as little as Rs 1,500 crore during the last four years.
Many attribute the growth to the fact that the flow of Central funds to states has increased manifold in recent years. In the case of Bihar, it went up from Rs 37,341 crore during the five-year period 2000-2005 to Rs 55,459 crore during the next three years. But equally importantly, the funds are now getting better utilized than during the Lalu-Rabri regime when large chunks remained unspent. Also, adds Gupta, the state made concerted efforts to mobilise internal resources with its own revenue collection going up from Rs 2,919 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 5,256 crore in 2008-09.
The flip side is that much of this growth does not get reflected in social indicators which remain abysmal. But, as Gupta says, it would be unrealistic for anyone to “expect the moon” at this stage. “Right now the fundamentals are getting corrected and therefore you can find mostly infrastructural indicators of growth; one will have to wait for social indicators to become visible,” he says.
While contractors and realtors stand to gain, more than half the state’s 8.2 crore people — 1.25 crore families — still live below the poverty line. For these families to prosper, Bihar desperately needs huge investments and more growth. The State Investment Promotion Board, formed by the Nitish government, has received proposals worth Rs 96,000 crore. But most of them, especially the major ones, remain on paper as Central rules prove a stumbling block. For instance, thermal power plants cannot come up in Bihar because the Centre has so far refused to provide coal linkages to ensure regular supplies to any such new plant.
Also, Bihar has a lot of catching up to do with the rest of India. “There cannot be any comparison between Gujarat and Bihar, both of which reportedly grew by over 11%; since our base is low, even a small investment results in impressive growth in percentage,” Gupta points out. State officials admit that crucial sectors like health are still sick with meagre resources in comparison to other states.
From its bleak past, Bihar may be finally moving towards a brighter future, but the common Bihari is not patting himself just yet. Maybe he is still waiting for this high growth to translate into better food on his table and more money in his pocket.
Kumar who seems to be delivering on that front. Despite three years of floods followed by a year of drought, ‘backward and benighted’ Bihar reports a miraculous figure: 11% GDP growth, second only to Gujarat. The state’s economy has never grown so fast so consistently as it has since 2004-2005. A few pointers on what’s going right in Bihar:
* Getting anywhere in Bihar has always been an exercise in endurance. But that’s changing. More than 6,800 km of roads have been relaid and 1,600 bridges and culverts constructed in the last four years. Journey time in India’s 12th largest state, sprawling over 94,163 sq km, has been cut by half today in many places. Now, most of the state’s 38 districts — from northernmost West Champaran to Kaimur on the western end — are a drive of six hours or less from Patna.
* Automobile sales in the state grew 45% in 2009, at a time when sales had dipped 20-25% in several other states during the economic slowdown. Is this buying spree an indication that a section of Biharis have more money to splurge than they did earlier? “A few people had money earlier too, but they didn’t flaunt it for fear of attracting extortionists and kidnappers,” says Ranjit Singh, director of a high-end Patna hotel. That fear may have evaporated now.
* Only 317 kidnappings for ransom were reported during the last four years as against 1,393 during the previous four. The kidnapping industry has clearly fallen on hard times. One indication of this is that doctors no longer refuse to go to patients’ homes on emergency calls. “Today you can see boards at clinics saying we go on calls,” says Dr Amulya Kumar Singh, who runs a nursing home in Patna.
* Most of Bihar’s infamous dons are behind bars. That includes Mohd Shahabuddin, the former RJD MP who had once gone live on TV, daring the state police chief to arrest him. Things are a little different now. A ruling JD(U) MLA, Sunil Pandey, attempted an encore of sorts in early 2006 when he brandished a revolver and talked murder on TV. But Pandey found himself behind bars within no time. Speedy trials have ensured a total of 38,824 convictions between 2006 and September 2009.The convicts included dons and their henchmen.
* Gun-toting strongmen are no longer a common sight on the streets of Bihar. Policemen patrol them now. And places like Siwan, where Shahabuddin once held sway, do not get deserted after dusk.
This improvement has shown results. Malls, shops and private educational institutions are coming up. So are mobile service providers and banking firms. It’s boom time for real estate with apartment buildings coming up all around. “That’s because even non-Biharis for a change want to have a foot in Bihar which has become a better place to live in,” says economist Shaibal Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute. Adds Faizal Alam of Kalyanpur Cements, “Cement inflow to the state went up 18% to 51 lakh tonnes in 2008-09.” That’s an indicator of the construction boom.
Ironically, this economic growth has happened without any worthwhile contribution from the manufacturing sector. The state’s economy is growing because of a boom in agriculture and services sectors. “It’s government-induced growth,” admits Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president S P Sinha. According to former BIA president K P S Keshri, private investments in the manufacturing sector have been as little as Rs 1,500 crore during the last four years.
Many attribute the growth to the fact that the flow of Central funds to states has increased manifold in recent years. In the case of Bihar, it went up from Rs 37,341 crore during the five-year period 2000-2005 to Rs 55,459 crore during the next three years. But equally importantly, the funds are now getting better utilized than during the Lalu-Rabri regime when large chunks remained unspent. Also, adds Gupta, the state made concerted efforts to mobilise internal resources with its own revenue collection going up from Rs 2,919 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 5,256 crore in 2008-09.
The flip side is that much of this growth does not get reflected in social indicators which remain abysmal. But, as Gupta says, it would be unrealistic for anyone to “expect the moon” at this stage. “Right now the fundamentals are getting corrected and therefore you can find mostly infrastructural indicators of growth; one will have to wait for social indicators to become visible,” he says.
While contractors and realtors stand to gain, more than half the state’s 8.2 crore people — 1.25 crore families — still live below the poverty line. For these families to prosper, Bihar desperately needs huge investments and more growth. The State Investment Promotion Board, formed by the Nitish government, has received proposals worth Rs 96,000 crore. But most of them, especially the major ones, remain on paper as Central rules prove a stumbling block. For instance, thermal power plants cannot come up in Bihar because the Centre has so far refused to provide coal linkages to ensure regular supplies to any such new plant.
Also, Bihar has a lot of catching up to do with the rest of India. “There cannot be any comparison between Gujarat and Bihar, both of which reportedly grew by over 11%; since our base is low, even a small investment results in impressive growth in percentage,” Gupta points out. State officials admit that crucial sectors like health are still sick with meagre resources in comparison to other states.
From its bleak past, Bihar may be finally moving towards a brighter future, but the common Bihari is not patting himself just yet. Maybe he is still waiting for this high growth to translate into better food on his table and more money in his pocket.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Bihar GDP shows upward trend: ASSOCHAM
Possibilities and prospects of industrial revival in Bihar seems to brightening as its Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) is expected to grow at
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a modest CAGR of 8 per cent during the next decade.
This is the finding of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). It said, "Bihar GDP will reach Rs 2,64,781 crore from the current level of Rs 1,05,148 crore, mainly due to good governance factor."
The ASSOCHAM, which brought "Bihar Vision: 2020", stated that by 2015, the state GDP would be around Rs 1,80,205 crore. Releasing the finding, ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat said since Bihar had acquired a reputation for good governance, its SGDP is projected to consistently grow at 8 per cent CAGR.
The organsiation expressed concern that manufacturing would remain a challenge for Bihar as it contributes only 0.38% to the state GDP which was lowest in the country. Manufacturing remained a neglected area in Bihar as it failed to provide security to industry which halted flow of investments, Rawat said.
The poverty level in the state is measured at 42.6% and if manufacturing is encouraged by ensuring law and order situation with suitable infrastructure, it would remove poverty from Bihar by creating bundle of employment opportunities, the report said.
Rawat said in the 2008-09 fiscal, Bihar received investment proposals worth Rs 40,000 crore but still has to raise resources through PPP to execute such investments. Agriculture contributes 35% to the SGDP against 9% of industry and 55% of services.
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a modest CAGR of 8 per cent during the next decade.
This is the finding of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). It said, "Bihar GDP will reach Rs 2,64,781 crore from the current level of Rs 1,05,148 crore, mainly due to good governance factor."
The ASSOCHAM, which brought "Bihar Vision: 2020", stated that by 2015, the state GDP would be around Rs 1,80,205 crore. Releasing the finding, ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat said since Bihar had acquired a reputation for good governance, its SGDP is projected to consistently grow at 8 per cent CAGR.
The organsiation expressed concern that manufacturing would remain a challenge for Bihar as it contributes only 0.38% to the state GDP which was lowest in the country. Manufacturing remained a neglected area in Bihar as it failed to provide security to industry which halted flow of investments, Rawat said.
The poverty level in the state is measured at 42.6% and if manufacturing is encouraged by ensuring law and order situation with suitable infrastructure, it would remove poverty from Bihar by creating bundle of employment opportunities, the report said.
Rawat said in the 2008-09 fiscal, Bihar received investment proposals worth Rs 40,000 crore but still has to raise resources through PPP to execute such investments. Agriculture contributes 35% to the SGDP against 9% of industry and 55% of services.
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.
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.
Bihar IITF pavilion draws huge crowds
The Bihar pavilion at India International Trade Fair (IITF 09) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, has focused on the vision of emerging Bihar
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with the slogan faith, wisdom and science.
The vision encompasses the state government's move to develop the potential of religious tourism of all the faiths to showcase the wisdom and the centre of learning at the ancient Nalanda University around which the present Nalanda International centre of learning and university is coming up, and the pursuit of scientific development, said the deputy director, industries, R C Rai.
Rai, who is camping at the Bihar pavilion site at Pragati Maidan, told TOI over the phone that the Bihar pavilion is also focusing on service industries and export on the IITF 09 theme "Exports of Services". Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has already received over 55 investment proposals at the fair. It is appealing the investors to invest in service sector, including the knowledge process outsourcing in Bihar, he said.
At the outset industries principal secretary A K Sinha, agriculture production commissioner K C Saha, tourism principal secretary Rashmi Verma, Bihar resident commissioner in Delhi A V Chaturvedi and Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam chairman Bihar Atish Chandra had at the Bihar pavilion focused on Bihar as an investment destination with untapped market potential. They projected Bihar as a land of boundless opportunities in infrastructure development, food processing, sugarcane and ethanol production, textiles, healthcare and tourism, and potential for growth of tourism industry with its rich cultural heritage and abundance of waterbodies.
The Bihar pavilion displays intricately designed religious circuits of different faiths Buddhism, Jainism, Sufism and other religious circuits. The tourism stall is providing the details of tourist spots and pilgrim centres in Bihar. At its stall, BPRNN, which has raised the Bihar pavilion, displayed its success story of building 140 bridges in record time. The Sudha stall has displayed the success story of the white revolution brought in Bihar through a network of co-operative milk societies and it has put on display its milk and other products.
The jute jwellery stall is drawing huge crowds, Rai said. Bihar State Khadi Gramodyog Board has at its stall put on display and sale khadi products. The stall, showcasing rural development in Bihar, has put on display handicraft items and products of rural women entrepreneurs, he added. Besides there are stalls of Madhubani, Mithila and Godna paintings, Bhagalpuri silk and silk sari, applique bedsheets, Suzni work sari.
At the IITF food court, Bihar's specialities litti chokha, tilkut, laai, anarsa, khaza, and litchi juice are available.
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with the slogan faith, wisdom and science.
The vision encompasses the state government's move to develop the potential of religious tourism of all the faiths to showcase the wisdom and the centre of learning at the ancient Nalanda University around which the present Nalanda International centre of learning and university is coming up, and the pursuit of scientific development, said the deputy director, industries, R C Rai.
Rai, who is camping at the Bihar pavilion site at Pragati Maidan, told TOI over the phone that the Bihar pavilion is also focusing on service industries and export on the IITF 09 theme "Exports of Services". Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has already received over 55 investment proposals at the fair. It is appealing the investors to invest in service sector, including the knowledge process outsourcing in Bihar, he said.
At the outset industries principal secretary A K Sinha, agriculture production commissioner K C Saha, tourism principal secretary Rashmi Verma, Bihar resident commissioner in Delhi A V Chaturvedi and Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam chairman Bihar Atish Chandra had at the Bihar pavilion focused on Bihar as an investment destination with untapped market potential. They projected Bihar as a land of boundless opportunities in infrastructure development, food processing, sugarcane and ethanol production, textiles, healthcare and tourism, and potential for growth of tourism industry with its rich cultural heritage and abundance of waterbodies.
The Bihar pavilion displays intricately designed religious circuits of different faiths Buddhism, Jainism, Sufism and other religious circuits. The tourism stall is providing the details of tourist spots and pilgrim centres in Bihar. At its stall, BPRNN, which has raised the Bihar pavilion, displayed its success story of building 140 bridges in record time. The Sudha stall has displayed the success story of the white revolution brought in Bihar through a network of co-operative milk societies and it has put on display its milk and other products.
The jute jwellery stall is drawing huge crowds, Rai said. Bihar State Khadi Gramodyog Board has at its stall put on display and sale khadi products. The stall, showcasing rural development in Bihar, has put on display handicraft items and products of rural women entrepreneurs, he added. Besides there are stalls of Madhubani, Mithila and Godna paintings, Bhagalpuri silk and silk sari, applique bedsheets, Suzni work sari.
At the IITF food court, Bihar's specialities litti chokha, tilkut, laai, anarsa, khaza, and litchi juice are available.
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Nandan Nilekani to help Bihar improve e-governance
Bihar has sought the help of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, the chief of India's Unique Identification Database Authority, to
improve the state's e-governance system.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar disclosed at a function in Patna on Friday evening that Nilekani will visit Patna November 17 and hold talks with senior government officials to strengthen e-governance in the state.
All 37 district headquarters and 470 block headquarters in Bihar can be accessed online through the Bihar State Wide Area Network. "We have made progress in e-governance in the last few years - from Remington typewriters to online access," the Chief Minister said.
Bihar had formally adopted e-governance as a state policy in 2006 on the advice of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
The state has constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with the objective of bringing about an Information Technology (IT) transformation in the state. The SPV was constituted as a tripartite joint venture of state-owned Beltron, Tata Consultancy Services and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) at an estimated cost of Rs 380 million.
The SPV is preparing a comprehensive special package for e-governance. Besides, separate e-governance packages have been created for different departments by the joint venture partners, based on specific requirements.
The state government has already equipped legislators with sophisticated laptop computers under the national e-governance plan of the central government.
The previous state government, headed by Rabri Devi had brought several departments online and launched an official web site of the state.
Her husband, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, also a former Chief Minister, has often rubbished IT as a "tool of the elite".
improve the state's e-governance system.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar disclosed at a function in Patna on Friday evening that Nilekani will visit Patna November 17 and hold talks with senior government officials to strengthen e-governance in the state.
All 37 district headquarters and 470 block headquarters in Bihar can be accessed online through the Bihar State Wide Area Network. "We have made progress in e-governance in the last few years - from Remington typewriters to online access," the Chief Minister said.
Bihar had formally adopted e-governance as a state policy in 2006 on the advice of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
The state has constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with the objective of bringing about an Information Technology (IT) transformation in the state. The SPV was constituted as a tripartite joint venture of state-owned Beltron, Tata Consultancy Services and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) at an estimated cost of Rs 380 million.
The SPV is preparing a comprehensive special package for e-governance. Besides, separate e-governance packages have been created for different departments by the joint venture partners, based on specific requirements.
The state government has already equipped legislators with sophisticated laptop computers under the national e-governance plan of the central government.
The previous state government, headed by Rabri Devi had brought several departments online and launched an official web site of the state.
Her husband, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, also a former Chief Minister, has often rubbished IT as a "tool of the elite".
Bihar villagers now get green electricity
A technology that converts rice husk into electricity is gaining ground in Bihar. Some 100,000 households in the state already use
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electricity produced from biomass and their number is steadily growing.
According to an estimate, 44% of India's population still live without electricity, making this biomass-based power generation technology indispensable in energy-starved states like Bihar.
Though this technology has been in use for the past 50 years in India, Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, has modified it to create a cost-effective operational model.
Today, HPS supplies power to 50 off-grid villages in the state. Each village has a population between 2,000 and 4,000. By 2012, HPS plans to cover 2,000 villages in the state.
Rice husk is traditionally discarded in India. However, when it is heated, it releases a gas that HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity.
"We heat rice husk to a point at which they turn into gas and that gas runs an engine," said Chip Ransler, chief strategy officer of HPS. The power is supplied through a grid that HPS operates.
The rice husk is procured from farmers and mill owners, and each biomass gasification plant is run by trained mechanics.
"Roughly 1.5 kg of rice husk yields 1 KWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity," Ransler said.
"Electricity is generated via an alternator and delivered in three phases at 220 volts. We set up grids that are specially suited according to the size of the villages. The setup is completely decentralised," he added.
The villages that have benefited include Tamkuha, Dhanaha, Rupahi, Madhubani, Inarawa, Sarisawa and Majhoulia. All are located in West Champaran district.
However, the company wants to keep its electricity rates confidential.
"We don't share the price. But villagers save 50 percent of what they were spending on kerosene and diesel, and they're getting much larger output from the investments in HPS," Ransler said.
Simon Desjardins, an analyst with Shell Foundation, a Britain-based NGO that provides financial and technical aid to HPS, said electricity shortages can directly impede the economic development of a village, apart from the environmental pollution caused by the use of diesel and kerosene.
"Today, Bihar represents a viable market for modern energy services. The rural communities are willing to pay for reliable electricity," he said.
Ransler said HPS initially provided electricity to 15 villages with support from the Shell Foundation. Now it has 10 biomass plants with capacity ranging from 35-100 KW. It has also created jobs opportunities for the locals.
Biomass gasification plants are eco-friendly as they replace diesel and kerosene with carbon-neutral biomass-derived electricity.
Ransler said each HPS plant offsets roughly 80-100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
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electricity produced from biomass and their number is steadily growing.
According to an estimate, 44% of India's population still live without electricity, making this biomass-based power generation technology indispensable in energy-starved states like Bihar.
Though this technology has been in use for the past 50 years in India, Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, has modified it to create a cost-effective operational model.
Today, HPS supplies power to 50 off-grid villages in the state. Each village has a population between 2,000 and 4,000. By 2012, HPS plans to cover 2,000 villages in the state.
Rice husk is traditionally discarded in India. However, when it is heated, it releases a gas that HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity.
"We heat rice husk to a point at which they turn into gas and that gas runs an engine," said Chip Ransler, chief strategy officer of HPS. The power is supplied through a grid that HPS operates.
The rice husk is procured from farmers and mill owners, and each biomass gasification plant is run by trained mechanics.
"Roughly 1.5 kg of rice husk yields 1 KWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity," Ransler said.
"Electricity is generated via an alternator and delivered in three phases at 220 volts. We set up grids that are specially suited according to the size of the villages. The setup is completely decentralised," he added.
The villages that have benefited include Tamkuha, Dhanaha, Rupahi, Madhubani, Inarawa, Sarisawa and Majhoulia. All are located in West Champaran district.
However, the company wants to keep its electricity rates confidential.
"We don't share the price. But villagers save 50 percent of what they were spending on kerosene and diesel, and they're getting much larger output from the investments in HPS," Ransler said.
Simon Desjardins, an analyst with Shell Foundation, a Britain-based NGO that provides financial and technical aid to HPS, said electricity shortages can directly impede the economic development of a village, apart from the environmental pollution caused by the use of diesel and kerosene.
"Today, Bihar represents a viable market for modern energy services. The rural communities are willing to pay for reliable electricity," he said.
Ransler said HPS initially provided electricity to 15 villages with support from the Shell Foundation. Now it has 10 biomass plants with capacity ranging from 35-100 KW. It has also created jobs opportunities for the locals.
Biomass gasification plants are eco-friendly as they replace diesel and kerosene with carbon-neutral biomass-derived electricity.
Ransler said each HPS plant offsets roughly 80-100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Study shows Bihar emerging as job hub
Biharis, in general, have a reputation of flooding cities of other Indian states in search of employment. But this stigma could soon be a
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thing of the past as the state capital seems to be emerging as an employment hub. This is according to a survey by Assocham Placement Pattern Study for the first seven months (April to October) of the current fiscal (2009-10).
The good news comes close on the heels of chief minister Nitish Kumar saying that Bihar, which was once dubbed a failed state, is now a success story under his stewardship. On Tuesday, he completed four years in office as CM.
The APP report talks of different aspects of employment, including sectoral patterns and performance of different categories of cities in terms of employment generation.
Under the city classification, Patna has been placed in Tier II along with 17 other major Indian cities. The cities jointly contributed 18.82 per cent in terms of total employment generation in the country in the said period and Patna’s contribution of 0.41 per cent was higher than Indore’s (0.33 per cent), Nagpur’s (0.32 per cent), Cochin’s (0.32 per cent), Ludhiana’s (0.28 per cent), Bhubaneswar’s (0.25 per cent), Bhopal’s (0.21 per cent), Amritsar’s (0.18 per cent) and Gwalior’s (0.17 per cent).
Cities which have a greater share than Patna in this aspect, are Pune (5.46 per cent), Ahmedabad (5.01 per cent), Chandigarh (1.95 per cent), Surat (1.13 per cent), Lucknow (0.82 per cent), Gandhi Nagar (0.80 per cent), Jaipur (0.68 per cent) and Vishakapatnam (0.50 per cent).
There is yet another area in which Patna has left behind cities like Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana. It pertains to a percentage growth in job creation during April-October 2009-10 compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2008-09).
While the state capital recorded a growth of 20.52 per cent in this period, Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana registered a decline in job creation by 26.68 per cent, 9.60 per cent, 6.27 per cent and 3.94 per cent respectively.
Economist N K Chowdhary attributes this to an improved law and order situation. "And overall positive approach of the state government has helped promote economic activities resulting in growth in employment," he said.
Concurred Bihar Chamber of Commerce president P K Agrawal, "Employment opportunities have increased both in organized and unorganized sectors with telecom, banking, insurance and real estate sectors being the most visible contributors in terms of employment generation."
However, Asian Development Research Institute director and economist P P Ghosh opined against drawing conclusions. "The high percentage growth in employment generation may be the result of a low base where even small growth is reflected very highly in percentage terms," he cautioned.
Ghosh, nevertheless, agreed that rapid increase in development expenditure in the past four years would certainly have helped in employment generation.
"Bihar has changed," Nitish was quoted saying on Tuesday after the four-year stock-taking. He even said that Amartya Sen and Nandan Nilekani had acknowledged this.
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thing of the past as the state capital seems to be emerging as an employment hub. This is according to a survey by Assocham Placement Pattern Study for the first seven months (April to October) of the current fiscal (2009-10).
The good news comes close on the heels of chief minister Nitish Kumar saying that Bihar, which was once dubbed a failed state, is now a success story under his stewardship. On Tuesday, he completed four years in office as CM.
The APP report talks of different aspects of employment, including sectoral patterns and performance of different categories of cities in terms of employment generation.
Under the city classification, Patna has been placed in Tier II along with 17 other major Indian cities. The cities jointly contributed 18.82 per cent in terms of total employment generation in the country in the said period and Patna’s contribution of 0.41 per cent was higher than Indore’s (0.33 per cent), Nagpur’s (0.32 per cent), Cochin’s (0.32 per cent), Ludhiana’s (0.28 per cent), Bhubaneswar’s (0.25 per cent), Bhopal’s (0.21 per cent), Amritsar’s (0.18 per cent) and Gwalior’s (0.17 per cent).
Cities which have a greater share than Patna in this aspect, are Pune (5.46 per cent), Ahmedabad (5.01 per cent), Chandigarh (1.95 per cent), Surat (1.13 per cent), Lucknow (0.82 per cent), Gandhi Nagar (0.80 per cent), Jaipur (0.68 per cent) and Vishakapatnam (0.50 per cent).
There is yet another area in which Patna has left behind cities like Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana. It pertains to a percentage growth in job creation during April-October 2009-10 compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2008-09).
While the state capital recorded a growth of 20.52 per cent in this period, Bhopal, Amritsar, Gwalior and Ludhiana registered a decline in job creation by 26.68 per cent, 9.60 per cent, 6.27 per cent and 3.94 per cent respectively.
Economist N K Chowdhary attributes this to an improved law and order situation. "And overall positive approach of the state government has helped promote economic activities resulting in growth in employment," he said.
Concurred Bihar Chamber of Commerce president P K Agrawal, "Employment opportunities have increased both in organized and unorganized sectors with telecom, banking, insurance and real estate sectors being the most visible contributors in terms of employment generation."
However, Asian Development Research Institute director and economist P P Ghosh opined against drawing conclusions. "The high percentage growth in employment generation may be the result of a low base where even small growth is reflected very highly in percentage terms," he cautioned.
Ghosh, nevertheless, agreed that rapid increase in development expenditure in the past four years would certainly have helped in employment generation.
"Bihar has changed," Nitish was quoted saying on Tuesday after the four-year stock-taking. He even said that Amartya Sen and Nandan Nilekani had acknowledged this.
`Sushasan' effect: Flyers' flow up
Economic slowdown notwithstanding, the number of air passengers flying out of and into Bihar has been increasing constantly with Patna's
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Jayaprakash Narain International Airport receiving and seeing off as many as 56,049 air travellers in October this year as against 27,711 air travellers during the same month last year.
That's a growth of well above 100%! And this is not a one-off growth. Even in the preceding five months from May to September of the current year, the flow of passengers to and from Patna has been up.
There are some who attribute it to the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government's "sushasan" or good governance. "I think improved law and order and overall positive environment for development have attracted many people who earlier hesitated visiting the state," Airports Authority of India (AAI)'s Patna director Arvind Dubey told TOI on Saturday.
Dubey, however, added the number of flights connecting the state capital to other parts of the country has also gone up, of late. In the past five months, the number of flights to and from Patna has gone up from eight to 12. "With many of these flights being low-cost carriers, more and more people are opting for air travel," Dubey said.
Low-cost carriers like Kingfisher Red, JetLite, Jet Konnect and IndiGo fly to and from Patna. Aviation industry sources say more such flights are in the pipeline. That would, needless to say, give a fresh fillip to air travel to and from the city.
The increased flow of passengers is music to the ears of AAI authorities as the Patna airport has been a loss-making unit. "We have certainly been able to reduce the deficit and hope to do better by optimising the use of existing facilities at the airport," Dubey said, refusing, however, to divulge the deficit details.
The AAI director's hopes are not unfounded. The airport watch hours currently starts at 8 am and ends at 9.30 pm. "If we have sufficient number of flights, we can work round-the-clock
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Jayaprakash Narain International Airport receiving and seeing off as many as 56,049 air travellers in October this year as against 27,711 air travellers during the same month last year.
That's a growth of well above 100%! And this is not a one-off growth. Even in the preceding five months from May to September of the current year, the flow of passengers to and from Patna has been up.
There are some who attribute it to the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government's "sushasan" or good governance. "I think improved law and order and overall positive environment for development have attracted many people who earlier hesitated visiting the state," Airports Authority of India (AAI)'s Patna director Arvind Dubey told TOI on Saturday.
Dubey, however, added the number of flights connecting the state capital to other parts of the country has also gone up, of late. In the past five months, the number of flights to and from Patna has gone up from eight to 12. "With many of these flights being low-cost carriers, more and more people are opting for air travel," Dubey said.
Low-cost carriers like Kingfisher Red, JetLite, Jet Konnect and IndiGo fly to and from Patna. Aviation industry sources say more such flights are in the pipeline. That would, needless to say, give a fresh fillip to air travel to and from the city.
The increased flow of passengers is music to the ears of AAI authorities as the Patna airport has been a loss-making unit. "We have certainly been able to reduce the deficit and hope to do better by optimising the use of existing facilities at the airport," Dubey said, refusing, however, to divulge the deficit details.
The AAI director's hopes are not unfounded. The airport watch hours currently starts at 8 am and ends at 9.30 pm. "If we have sufficient number of flights, we can work round-the-clock
Bihar now a success story: Nitish
Chief minister Nitish Kumar takes pride in Bihar's turnaround in a short period. "Bihar was a failed state but now Bihar is a success
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story," Nitish told TOI on Monday. He completes four years in office as CM on Tuesday.
Sitting under a canopy at the herbal garden on the eastern flank of his 1 Anne Marg residence amidst the aroma of a large variety of herbal plants like plectranthus amboinicus (ajwain) and sweritia chiratta (chiraita), a relaxed-looking Nitish spent hours giving interviews to the media on Monday.
"Running a state like Bihar is no joke particularly while working for every section of society," he said.
Much before Barack Obama made his famous slogan of "Yes, we can", Nitish had pledged to change the face and character of Bihar which was infamous for crime and corruption. "We did it in a brief period and today at least people are not living under terror," he said.
He said the duration hardly mattered when good work was initiated with commitment. "Sher Shah ruled the country for just over four years but he is still remembered for his good work," Nitish said, adding quickly: "No, no, I am not comparing myself with the emperor who to date is the only Bihari to have ruled the country."
"When I look back I feel astonished and think if it was really possible to do so many things in a state where nothing moved. Bihar watchers are also surprised," Nitish claimed.
He said four years was not a long time keeping in mind the state's backwardness and administrative failures, where "there was neither law nor order", but now a lot of work has been done for the development of infrastructure, human resources, besides special measures for the deprived sections.
"There is no longer any tension in society. People are feeling secure. Festivals are observed in total harmony. I treat this as a big achievement," Nitish said. He continued, "Bihar has changed. This is acknowledged by people like Amartya Sen and Nandan Nilekani."
The CM said he has received the people's mandate for five years and in the remaining one year he would continue aggressively for the state's development and welfare of its people without any discrimination.
"I will seek a second term from the people on the basis of my work and not on hollow claims. It's up to the public to decide. They fully know that Bihar has changed and will change further for the good," Nitish said.
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story," Nitish told TOI on Monday. He completes four years in office as CM on Tuesday.
Sitting under a canopy at the herbal garden on the eastern flank of his 1 Anne Marg residence amidst the aroma of a large variety of herbal plants like plectranthus amboinicus (ajwain) and sweritia chiratta (chiraita), a relaxed-looking Nitish spent hours giving interviews to the media on Monday.
"Running a state like Bihar is no joke particularly while working for every section of society," he said.
Much before Barack Obama made his famous slogan of "Yes, we can", Nitish had pledged to change the face and character of Bihar which was infamous for crime and corruption. "We did it in a brief period and today at least people are not living under terror," he said.
He said the duration hardly mattered when good work was initiated with commitment. "Sher Shah ruled the country for just over four years but he is still remembered for his good work," Nitish said, adding quickly: "No, no, I am not comparing myself with the emperor who to date is the only Bihari to have ruled the country."
"When I look back I feel astonished and think if it was really possible to do so many things in a state where nothing moved. Bihar watchers are also surprised," Nitish claimed.
He said four years was not a long time keeping in mind the state's backwardness and administrative failures, where "there was neither law nor order", but now a lot of work has been done for the development of infrastructure, human resources, besides special measures for the deprived sections.
"There is no longer any tension in society. People are feeling secure. Festivals are observed in total harmony. I treat this as a big achievement," Nitish said. He continued, "Bihar has changed. This is acknowledged by people like Amartya Sen and Nandan Nilekani."
The CM said he has received the people's mandate for five years and in the remaining one year he would continue aggressively for the state's development and welfare of its people without any discrimination.
"I will seek a second term from the people on the basis of my work and not on hollow claims. It's up to the public to decide. They fully know that Bihar has changed and will change further for the good," Nitish said.
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