The newly constituted Bihar cabinet convened for the first time on Tuesday, unveiling an expansive five-year plan that promised job creation and a sweeping transformation of the state’s economic landscape.
At the heart of the agenda is a pledge to generate one crore jobs for young people, a target the government said would steer Bihar into a new era of industry and innovation.
Chief secretary Pratyay Amrit, briefing journalists after the meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar, said that employment generation and industrial growth dominated the discussion.
"A defence corridor, semiconductor manufacturing park, global capacity centres, mega tech city, and fitness city will be established to make Bihar a 'tech hub' of eastern India," he said.
He said that under the broader plan for the “new-age economy”, Bihar aims to evolve into a “back-end hub and global workplace” over the next five years.
The state, Amrit said, has constituted multiple committees tasked with driving various strands of the programme.
One such committee will craft specific employment-centric initiatives within the start-up ecosystem, aimed at providing platforms and livelihood opportunities for young entrepreneurs keen to build businesses in Bihar.
The cabinet also cleared a proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Mission for AI-driven work and innovation.
The government also announced an urban development push through greenfield township projects. Eleven cities — including all nine divisional headquarters, as well as Sonepur and Sitamarhi — have been earmarked for the initiative, which the administration says will enable more structured and modern urban growth.
Nine long-shut sugar mills are to be reopened, and 25 new mills are planned to be established, a development the government believes will help rejuvenate rural employment and improve the agro-industrial chain.
The five-year vision, as set out in the inaugural cabinet meeting, presents an ambitious picture of what Bihar could become. Question is, will it happen?