'Bihar must maintain 11% growth to be on par with Guj'

Bihar will have to maintain 11.03 per cent growth rate over the next 15 to 16 years to attain the development levels of Maharashtra and Gujarat, Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi has said.

"Efforts made by the Nitish Kumar government have made tremendous achievements in the fields of education, health, road construction and law and order fronts... But in order to attain the development levels of Maharashtra and Gujarat, the state will have to maintain 11.03 per cent growth rate over the next 15-16 years," Modi said at Bihar Development Conference here last night.

Modi demanded that around 1.5 crore below poverty line (BPL) families in the state be covered under the provisions of the National Food Security Act.