Advantage Bihar: The evolving narrative around the state

Nitish Mishra, Minister of Industries and Tourism, Government of Bihar, wants to change the way the world sees his state. He is rewriting Bihar’s story.

Thursday July 04, 2024 , 7 min Read

Key Takeaways

Nitish Mishra is aiming to change Bihar’s reputation and is working towards establishing it as a place of opportunity and growth.
He believes that with international companies showing interest in Bihar, the state’s economic destiny is bound to change.
Focus on education and skill development to create a qualified workforce.
Rural development and growth opportunities for women are his top priorities.

Bihar whispers of great emperors long gone. From Chandragupta Maurya to Asoka the Great, all belonged to former-day Patliputra or modern-day Patna. It is the place where Gautam Buddha found enlightenment. Additionally, it is the place where its emperors founded some of the world's finest and earliest education centres, such as the Nalanda Mahavihara, Vikramshila, and Odantapuri. Despite this greatness in the very essence of Bihar, the state doesn’t enjoy a great reputation.

“Bihar faces what is called a perception bias,” says Nitish Mishra, Minister of Industries and Tourism, Government of Bihar, in a conversation with YourStory. So perhaps, it is time to change that perception. This mission has been the Minister's driving force for the past two decades. It's a crusade he won't abandon until Bihar is seen as a tourist destination and a symbol of growth and prosperity.

A breakthrough was made in the Bihar Business Connect 2023, where agreements worth Rs 50,530 crore were signed with 300 companies. Manufacturing, food processing, services, IT, and textile sectors evinced the maximum interest from investors.

The state has taken slow but steady steps towards social and economic transformation. Being self-sufficient or Aatmanirbhar is now a conscious strategy, be it to provide basic resources to the state’s citizens or to build future socio-economic growth opportunities.

A case in point is the tax revenues. In 2024-25, Bihar’s state GST is estimated to be the largest source of its own tax revenue, contributing 58%. The state’s total revenue receipts for 2024-25 are estimated to be Rs 2.26 lakh crore, a 6% increase over the previous year’s revised estimates. Of this, Bihar looks to raise Rs 61,626 crore or 27% through its own resources.

These are impressive figures. But Nitish Mishra has a bigger dream. A Bihar where those who left for better opportunities return because they finally see a thriving future here. “I want people to stop asking ‘why Bihar’, and instead say ‘why not Bihar?’” says Mishra, who left Bihar and India to pursue higher education, but returned because he believed in his state and wanted to work for it.

Now, the question is, how does one go about changing perceptions? How does one build an enviable brand image for Bihar? The Minister says he has plans.

Building the growth pillars

Ask anyone about the ingredients for a flourishing community, and they'll likely point to a strong foundation: a well-educated population, robust infrastructure, and a quality healthcare system. These three elements are the cornerstones on which growth thrives.

This is exactly what Mishra is working towards.

“There has been a certain mindset that Bihar cannot have large industries,” he says. But none of that is true. Mishra believes there are positive signs on the horizon for Bihar. “International companies like Coca-Cola are in discussions with the government about building facilities, and cement companies are already establishing factories in the state,” he explains.

That’s just step one. While Mishra knows that big companies will come wherever they see opportunities, he also wants to focus on the small-scale industries in the state and build entrepreneurship in the state.

There is also an increased focus on changing education at a policy level. “Investing in education and skills development should be a top priority. Proactive policy development now is crucial. We have to generate opportunities,” adds Mishra, who wants Bihar to become the epicentre of learning, once again.

Advantage Bihar

Infrastructure has often been assumed to be a bottleneck in Bihar’s growth. But not anymore. “You now have road and air connectivity,” the Minister informs.

The state today boasts of two international and one domestic airports. Other than Patna, there is an international airport in Gaya, which brings in global tourists in search of peace and tranquillity at the place where Gautam Buddha found his truth. And there is the Darbhanga Airport, which became operational in 2020, adding relief to the lives of the Biharis living away from home. Additionally, the state has witnessed an overhaul in its infrastructure. A slew of national highways and express highways are improving connectivity.

The state has set aside Rs 3,819 crore as capital for roads and bridges. In addition, Rs 9,000 crore has been earmarked for affordable power and allied subsidies. This is expected to further boost connectivity, logistics, and industrial production.

The emphasis on building an enabling infrastructure has been beneficial. Bihar, which exports agricultural produce as well as ethnic fabrics and handicrafts, exported goods and services worth $2.05 billion (~Rs 17,000 crore) between April 2023 and March 2024.

“Infrastructure is no longer a bottleneck in Bihar,” shares Mishra. But it isn’t just the urban areas that the government is focusing on. The minister says that they have been able to amplify rural development. The government, for instance, has expanded the JEEViKA scheme for women throughout the state. “We have created over 1 lakh jobs and made them available to our people,” he says.

A direct impact of the robust infrastructural progress has led to a surge in tourism. Data from Bihar’s tourism department shows that 80 million tourists visited the state in 2023, a record. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 35 million tourists visited Bihar, an already significant increase from 2012, when the state tourism numbers were at 24 million. Tourism in Bihar has become a focal centre of economic growth and employment.

Rajgir, a site of religious and cultural significance, saw over 33 million Indian tourists in 2023. Gaya was a popular destination among international tourists, with 96,328 of them visiting the holy site in 2023.

It is not just tourism. The wind of change can be witnessed across verticals. With education being an important pillar of state prosperity, the Bihar government has invested resources towards building 2,768 schools across villages. A direct result of the effective implementation of education policies has led to two things: the number of girls in school is now almost equal to the number of boys. And the total fertility rate has fallen from 4.3% in 2005 to 2.9% today.

Simultaneously, implementing telemedicine services in 7,800 healthcare centres in rural Bihar has helped over 11.8 million people since 2021.

With rapid development happening across the state, Bihar, Mishra believes, will play an important role in the development of East India. “It is Advantage Bihar right now.”

Vehicles of change

The government is playing its role in changing the face of Bihar. But, Minister Mishra says that the people should be participants in this change. It is his and his government’s vision that “every district should have 200-300 enterprises”. He wants the state to become another startup hub. He wants the Biharis to return home, build companies, and become the vehicle of change.

States like Bihar, which in the past have suffered from neglect and a bad reputation, have seen large-scale brain drain. The situation, says the Minister, was so bad that “people would hide their identity when away from home. They wouldn’t tell anyone about their roots.” But not anymore. With political stability within the state, and private players showing interest in what Bihar offers, the proverbial brain drain is slowly reversing.

Between 2005 and 2020, the state offered employment opportunities to over 5,35,000 youth. In addition, the state government has taken a pledge under the Saat Nishchay-2 scheme to create 1 million direct jobs and another 1 million employment opportunities in Bihar. Skill-based training facilities have been expanded as well, with the establishment of 31 new centres of excellence across the state’s industrial training institutes.

Bihar will soon return to its glory days. Mishra just wants the country’s youth to read about the harsh realities his state has faced and then form their opinions. He wants these people to send at least one of their friends on a trip to the state. “We have the Valmiki Tiger Reserve. Our waterfalls are beautiful. We already have religious tourism booming. And we have unmatched potential in ecotourism,” says the Minister.

Proud of his Bihari heritage and culture, the Minister seeks participation from his people in changing the minds of others. “Commit to building Brand Bihar,” he signs off.