Bihar’s invitation came at a programme “Road show on food processing policy of Bihar”.
Offering a host of incentives, principal secretary of Bihar industries department A.K. Sinha took centre stage at the event to answer questions posed by Jharkhand industrialists. Entrepreneur Prakash Tekriwal posed questions regarding the time it would take a firm to set up a rice processing unit in Bihar and if it would be entitled to capital subsidy. “It should not take more than a month. One can directly purchase land to set up a unit or can approach Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority. For reliable source of electricity, one can set up a captive husk-based power generation unit” .
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| A film on the industrial potential of Bihar being screened at the road show in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra |
The department secretary who had served as a sub-divisional officer in Jamshedpur and deputy commissioner of Hazaribagh in unified Bihar, claimed that the neighbouring state’s industrial inceptive policy was one of the best in the country.
He added that so far Bihar had received over 200 proposals with an expected investment to the tune of Rs 1,20,000 crore in several sectors, including food processing — a core area for industrialists.
Ravi Ranjan Mishra, vice-president of IL&FS CDI Limited that has been appointed by the Bihar government as a project management agency for handlooms, textiles and food processing, added that a wind of change was blowing through Bihar. Vice-president of Jharkhand Small Industry Association S.K. Poddar concured. Industry sources revealed that Bihar had received quite a few proposals from Jharkhand, including those from Usha Martin Group and rice mill owners. Rice, litchi, maize, makhana, jute, tea and sugarcane were identified to have the potential to value-add to the economy of the states.
Mahesh Prasad, the technical director of the Bihar industries department, said similar shows were organised in Delhi, Calcutta and Varanasi.
The department is contemplating to visit Bangalore and Mumbai, too.