KV Kamath and (above) Deepak Parekh

Patna, Sept. 5: Top honchos of India Inc. are set to attend the first meeting of the Bihar State Industrial Investment and Advisory Council on September 15, a showcase event for chief minister Nitish Kumar who is keen to attract investment to the funds-starved state.

“The first meeting of the council will be held in Patna and all the (23) members will be present. All the council members who are the heads and top officials of the business world of the country would be present at the maiden meeting,” Afzal Amanullah, the principal secretary, industries, told The Telegraph.

Among the corporate czars expected to be present in Patna that day are HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, ICICI Bank chairman K.V. Kamath, SBI chairman Pradip Choudhary, Vedanta president Anil Agarwal, ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar, Godrej & Boyce chairman Jamshyd Godrej, Hindustan Unilever MD and CEO Nitin Paranjpe, Tata Sons director (finance) Ishaat Hussain, TCS chief executive N. Chandrasekheran, Axis Bank CEO and MD Shikha Sharma and Max India chairman Analjeet Singh.

“Apart from them, Isher Judge Ahluwalia, chairperson, Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations, Sudipto Mundle, senior faculty member of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, J. Sinha, chairman of Asia Pacific, and U.K Sinha, chairman of Sebi, will be present at the meeting,” Amanullah said.

On July 30, Nitish had announced the setting up of the council in a bid to make the task of entrepreneurs wishing to set up businesses in the state easier.

The chief minister had said the government was determined to reduce the risk factor involved in making investments in Bihar and the council was a step in that direction.

The chief minister and the deputy chief minister are the chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the council. Prominent economists, management experts, top state government officers and representatives from trade and industry are part of the council.

Other members of the council include the state industries minister, chief secretary, development commissioner and the principal secretary, industries.

Nitish had said an Udyami Panchayat would be organised for industrialists on the fifth Monday of a month.

The council will offer suggestions on investment policies of the government and help planning in sectors like tourism, power, agriculture-based industries, health and hospitality etc.

The council will also ensure that those interested in investing in the state don’t face any problems.

“We have put up an ambitious demand of Rs 2.72 lakh crore in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. This cannot be achieved with public investment. We need huge private investments too. People from both inside and outside the state should come forward to make investments as the law and order situation is conducive today with the government making no discrimination against anyone,” Nitish had then said.