Workers give finishing touches to the Bihar pavilion at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on Friday. Picture by Ramakant Kushwaha

Terracotta statues of Buddha and Chanakya will greet businessmen and trade enthusiasts at India International Trade Fair, where the state government will showcase various incentives for attracting big investments to Bihar.

The India International Trade Fair 2012 will be held from November 14 to 27 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The Bihar pavilion is usually thronged by scores of businessmen, traders and enthusiasts. The state’s efforts to attract big investments might not have yielded the desired results yet, but the Bihar pavilion at Pragati Maidan would be the venue for publicising its industrial policy.

Officials of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (Biada) said the state would highlight the Bihar Industrial Incentive (Promotion) Policy 2011 in its move to attract investors. Biada is the nodal agency for developing the pavilion.

“We want to seek investments on a priority basis in food processing, agro-based industries, tourism, super-specialty hospitals, high and technical education institutions, information technology, textile and energy and renewable energy through the industrial promotion policy published last year. Through a big stall at the state pavilion, we will publicise what incentives and rebates we are offering to investors,” said Ravi Bhushan Prasad Sinha, deputy director (technical), industries department, on Friday. Sinha reached New Delhi on Friday to supervise work on the pavilion.

According to the state’s policy, the incentives to be provided to new and old industrial units have been categorised into pre-production incentives, post-production incentives, tax incentives and others. Sinha said these points would be displayed at a stall in the centre of the pavilion.

Several state-based companies are likely to set up stalls at the pavilion.

Officials said Tech India Pvt. Ltd, an event management company hired to design the pavilion, is ready with 80 per cent of the work. Biada officials, on behalf of the industries department, told The Telegraph that art, culture and food from Bihar would also be showcased at the fair.

The theme Bihar has picked for its stall at the annual gala for trade and industries is “Skilling India — Skilling Bihar”. The pavilion would be decorated according to the theme, in conformity with Bihar’s tradition and culture.

Madhubani paintings, Bhagalpur silk, tasar, sikki art, wooden art and bamboo arts would be on display. Ram Chandra Roy, officer on special duty at Biada, in charge of the pavilion, said: “By displaying our rich heritage, craft and culture, we will focus on giving the pride of place to the elegant and memorable art forms from the golden era of the Mauryan period. A replica of the Shanti Stupa, Rajgir, will be the face of the pavilion. It will be flanked by terracotta statues of Buddha and Chanakya with a large map of the Magadh kingdom in the backdrop of Chanakya.”

Roy added that Buddha and Chanakya has been chosen for prominence on the welcome gates for showcasing Bihar as the land of righteousness, non-violence, knowledge and skill.