Bihar will flaunt its industries sector in the US.

On Friday, Bestalk, an initiative of the Bihar Entrepreneurs' Association (BEA) and the industries department aimed at holding discussions with potential investors and changing the perception of Bihar, will be held in Columbus, the capital of the American state of Ohio.

The BEA team is preparing for the two-hour event that starts at 4pm. Another edition of Bestalk will be held in Pennsylvania state on March 16.

"In a month of its formation, Bestalk has been organised in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Hyderabad," BEA secretary-general Abhishek Singh said. "Principal industries secretary S. Siddhartha took part in the one organised at the stock exchange building in Mumbai on February 27. The event aims at creating an atmosphere of investments in Bihar and presenting the investors with positive aspects the state has to offer to them.

"The event is trying to demolish all kinds of negativity people have about the state and refrain from investing," he added. "We hope to achieve the same in US too and are confident that discussions with investors there will be fruitful. One must understand the fact that Bestalk is not about bringing investments to Bihar but informing about Bihar to India and the world."

BEA officials said interactions with US corporate giant GE had given them the idea to hold the event in that country.

On February 23, US ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma had announced that GE would roll out 900 diesel locomotives from an upcoming factory at Marhaura in Saran district, around 75km northwest of Patna.

Singh said: "We interacted with the GE representatives. The company wants to play a long innings in Bihar and suggested that we must present information about the industrial scenario here before US investors. Hence, the events were planned. Quite a few investors and start-up firms from Silicon Valley in San Francisco evinced interest in knowing the state. Their representatives are expected to participate in the event."

Sources said the state had realised that it was important to knock at the doors of investors repeatedly so that Bihar remains in the minds of people and investors.

"The state is forming its new start-up policy that will be ready by April," said an industries department official. "The policy boasts to be one of the best in the country. Also, the new industrial incentive policy will be ready by May-end. However, these messages need to be spread around for investors to know."