BIA officials address the news meet in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Dec. 9: Bihar Industries Association (BIA) would organise a weeklong Destination Bihar-Expo 2011 in the state capital to showcase the new and changing Bihar to attract investments and business.

“During the seven-day exhibition beginning December 12, we will try to showcase the changes that have taken place in the state in the recent years to the entrepreneurs outside the state. We will also showcase our success stories relating to industrial entrepreneurship at the expo,” BIA president KPS Keshri told reporters here on the association’s premises. Industries department director B.N. Jha, agriculture department’s deputy director (information) A.C. Jain, MSME Institute’s director D.K. Singh were also present on the occasion.

The expo, which would be inaugurated by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi at the Veterinary College ground, is being organised by the industry body in association with the state government’s department of industries, agriculture, tourism, road construction, information and public relations and ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Though the state government is celebrating the Bihar centenary year as an independent state, the BIA has also decided to celebrate the centenary in its own way by organising an industrial exhibition, Keshri said, adding: “We deliberately chose to organise this exhibition on December 12 as it was on the same day in 1911 when a declaration was made by then British government that Bihar and Odisha would be carved out of Bengal.”

It has been decided that there would not be any entry fee this time as the exhibition is being organised to celebrate centenary year of the state, he said adding that there would be a food court where people can relish various dishes.

Keshri said more than 100 stalls, including that of various government departments would put up stalls to present policies, programmes and achievements of the government and also highlight the different sectors of the economy that has good investment potential in the state. The BIA president said: “Banks’ stalls, too, would be there.”

Besides government departments, the tourism department of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh have confirmed their participation by setting up stalls in the exhibition, he said. Keshri added that companies like National Insurance, Tata Steel, Indian Oil, NTPC, SBI, Tata Motors, ITC Mahindra and Mahindra would also participate with their products and services.

K.P. Jhunjhunwala, the chairman of the organising committee, said the thrust would be to showcase the products of the state entrepreneurs to the people coming from outside the state at the expo.

Besides the usual display, the expo would hold special programmes like seminar, panel discussion to celebrate Industry Day on December 13, Agriculture Day on December 14, Tourism Day on December 16 Jhunjhunwala said.