BIHAR CLOCKED UP A GIDDY GROWTH RATE OF 11.03%
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By Amarnath Tewary
BBC News
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Has India's poorest and most lawless state turned the corner?
Patna - If you believe the government of the northern state of Bihar,
the answer appears to be in the affirmative.
According to it, Bihar clocked up a giddy growth rate of 11.03% in
2008-2009.
This would make it India's second fastest growing state economy, just
behind the industrially-developed western state of Gujarat.
Not so long ago, Bihar was written off as a basket case, trailing
behind every other Indian state.
Its infrastructure was shambolic, jobs had disappeared, factories had
shut down, lawlessness was rife and the government was in limbo.
Many believe that with a change of regime four years ago - regional
leader Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) leads a coalition
government with the Hindu nationalist BJP - Bihar's fortunes have
picked up.
Even if this is an exaggeration, there are definite signs of the
economy turning the corner.
Revival signs
Consider this:
o The government plans to spend $3.5bn during 2009-2010, up from
$327m in 2001-2002
o Revenue accruals have climbed to $1.1bn, up from $649m in 2003-
2004
o Government spending on infrastructure and "social development"
has been pegged at $444m every year
o Use of cement in the state has grown 28% in the last four years
against the national average of 9%, pointing to increased
construction work
o There has been a 78% growth in air traffic in and out of the
state during the same period, the fourth-highest in India.
o Automobile sales in the state have recorded a whopping 700%
growth.
o More than 6,800km (4,225 miles) of roads have been rebuilt and
1,600 bridges and culverts have been constructed
o The State Investment Promotion Board claims to have received
proposals worth $20b from industrialists. But it is not clear how
many of these proposals will be implemented
The government says it is working overtime to tame Bihar's runaway
crime rate - nearly 40,000 criminals, it says, have been convicted in
the last four years.
'Abysmally low'
"All this proves that there has been all round growth and
development," says Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
"Bihar is back on track."
But many doubt these claims.
"These figures are too good to be true," says economist Nawal Kishore
Chaudhury, who teaches at Patna University.
He wonders how the state could have recorded double digit growth when
last year's economic survey - a federal government publication -
showed that the growth rate was just 5%.
Also, last year's economic survey said that Bihar had recorded
negative growth in the farm sector.
At $32, per capita social spending remains one of the lowest in the
country.
Most economists do however agree that the Keynesian nature of growth
in Bihar - most of it spurred by government - has led to increased
spending in construction.
Also, the savings rate remains pretty high - Patna alone has $5.2bn
in bank deposits, which is higher than many prosperous small cities
in India.
"Since Bihar's development base is abysmally low, even a small
investment here results in impressive growth in percentage terms,"
says social scientist Shaibal Gupta.
More at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8458618.stm
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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harmony
brown people?
<use...@mantra.com and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)> wrote in
message news:20100118G43HXB9U5rosjQFSgNZqaPG@Vk6bU...
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are humankind's most time-tested; hindutv is their essence.
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
In article <4b550a9f$0$12420$bbae...@news.suddenlink.net>,
"harmony" <a...@hotmail.com> posted:
>
> is there any more proof needed that hindutva works, and works best for the
> brown people?
> Dr. Jai Maharaj posted:
harmony
english alphabets.
<use...@mantra.com and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)> wrote in
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