PRESS RELEASE
07-08-2023
BIHAR BECOMES THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING STATE OF INDIA: ATTRACTED NEARLY RS.74000 CR INVESTMENT WITH TWO LAKH NEW JOBS; SAYS STUDY
The economy of Bihar has posted strong growth and has attained the number three position among the top five fastest-growing states in the country after Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan, according to the just concluded study by the MSME Export Promotion Council along with the Confederation of Organic Food Producers & Marketing Agencies (COII).
The study on “Progressive Bihar offers unlimited opportunities to investors” was released here today by the Chairman of the MSME Export Promotion Council Dr D S Rawat. He said, according to the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE), during the last five years, Bihar has attracted Rs.73,900 crore in investment, successfully completed on-going projects worth Rs.77,047 crore and projects worth Rs. 16,10,381 crore under implementation. It is estimated that nearly two lakh jobs (direct & indirect) have been generated and once these projects are completed will create over three lack of additional employment opportunities.
The state economy posted a strong recovery as the gross state domestic product (GDP) at constant prices recorded a robust growth of 10.98 percent, much above the national growth rate.
The two most important sectors that contributed to the growth of GSDP have been livestock and fishing & aquaculture, registering growth rates of 9.5 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. The state’s economy is largely service-based with a significant share of agricultural and industrial.
As per the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) as of June 2023, during the year 2022-23, the new investment projects announced were Rs.3127.30 cr, investment projects completed were Rs.22577.42 cr, total investment projects outstanding were Rs.39446.64 cr and under implementation Rs.338227.66 cr. Once these projects are completed, are expected to generate over 70,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Dr Rawat said, the new investment projects announced in 2021-22 were Rs.13131.06 cr, projects completed were Rs.15492.22 cr, investment projects revived of Rs. 1841.18 cr, the total investment projects outstanding were Rs.418584.66 cr and under implementation Rs.339951.91 cr.
The new private investment projects announced in 2022-23 were Rs.2684.94 cr, completed projects worth Rs.215.65 cr, total investment projects outstanding were Rs.59579.65 cr and under implementation of Rs.41327.70 cr.
Tourism has turned out to be an economic booster contributing to the state’s economic development. In Bihar, the cumulative average growth rate of tourism from 2014 to 2019 is nearly 95 percent but thereafter due to the pandemic, the global economy including India was severely hit. In attracting foreign tourists, the state was in 8th place.
He said, the Bihar government has attached special importance to the development of tourism in the state and recognized this sector as one of the ten priority industries of Bihar for providing financial and other support to this industry. In the post-pandemic, the flow of tourists, both national and foreign, has gone up manifold.
The study says, that in Bihar there are 45103 villages, having rich natural sites, pilgrimages, world-level yoga centers, prehistoric sites, rich cultured legacy, distinct cuisines, and festivals of rich traditional arts and crafts. The study has suggested repackaging the tourism circuits into heritage, religious, health, cruise river Ganga, ganga dolphin watch, and arts, crafts, and rural tourism.
As per the latest available data (as of 5 October 2022), in 2019, the total tourist visits in the state were 35083179; domestic 33990038 and foreign 1093141. In 2020, total visits were 5946104; domestic 5638024 and foreign 308080, in 2021, the number has gone down due to COVID-19 and touched 2502239; domestic 2501193 and foreign 1046.
Though Bihar occupies the second position next alone to agriculture in terms of employment generation and accounts for more than 95 percent of industrial units, 65 percent of the manufacturing output, and produces over 4700 value-added products, there is tremendous potential for ancillaries industries to grow, start-ups and agri-based industries. The study observed that Bihar’s economy during the recent years has shown an appreciable growth performance by contributing to the creation of livelihood opportunities for millions of people.
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