Bihar business summit: MoUs signed for Rs 50,530 crore investment

Stating that the Centre should grant special status to Bihar to ensure faster growth, minister said state govt's focus is on food processing, leather, textiles and IT, among other sectors

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) totalling Rs 50,530 crore were sealed with around 300 companies for proposed investments in various sectors in Bihar during the two-day global investors' summit which concluded here on Thursday, officials said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who attended the event during the day released the Bihar Logistics Policy 2023 aiming at providing international-standard infrastructure facilities for industrial and social growth. He, however, did not address the 'Bihar Business Connect-2023'.

The Adani Group said it would make an additional investment of Rs 8,700 crore in the state in various sectors, including cement manufacturing, logistics and the agro-industry.

The group has already invested Rs 850 crore in the state, said Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, while speaking at the summit.

MoUs were signed with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Rs 7,386.15 crore), Patel Agri Industries Private Limited (Rs 5,230 crore), Holtech International Inc (Rs 2200 crore), Indo European Heart Hospitals and Research Institute Private Limited (Rs 2000 crore) and other companies, the officials said.

Addressing the concluding session of the summit, Industries Minister Sameer Kumar Mahaseth said the state needs three things for faster development.

He said, "Rain in Nepal causes much destruction in Bihar. If an agreement on water management with Nepal is reached, Bihar can be saved from floods. If Bihar gets the special state status, its industrial development will accelerate further. The third point is that if Bihar is included in the Special Economic Zone, its economic development will increase."

The state has made rapid progress in electricity, water, and roads, making it an ideal destination for investment, Mahaseth said.

Addressing the gathering, Pranav Adani, Director, of Adani Enterprises, said, "Our group has decided to invest Rs 8,700 crore in additional sectors in Bihar. This will create direct or indirect employment for approximately 10,000 people in the state."

He said that in the warehouse sector, the company plans to pump in Rs 1,200 crore, generating employment for 2,000 people and this will help districts such as Purnea, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Kishanganj and Araria.

Additional Chief Secretary of the Industry Department, Sandeep Poundrik, said that setting up industries in Bihar is easy due to the presence of market, raw materials, infrastructure, workforce and government support.