Patna, May 28: The first meeting of the committee constituted to redefine states’ backwardness went in favour of chief minister Nitish Kumar as the terms of reference given to the panel members in New Delhi today veered around the demands raised by him.

“The meeting did not discuss Bihar, but the state’s agenda would be automatically in focus,” said a source, indicating that issues like per capita income and other indicators of human development would be considered while determining backwardness of a state. The field has been left wide open for the committee to suggest any other criteria to determine the backwardness of states.

The maiden meeting of the six-member committee lasted for about two hours. “There was preliminary round of talks,” said the source, adding the next meeting of the panel, constituted by Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, would be held on June 12.

Talking to reporters about the maiden meeting of the committee, Nitish said: “It would be good if we get what we want. If we do not get it, our agitation will continue.”

The committee, formed on May 15, has been given two months to submit its report. The six-member panel is headed by Raghuram Rajan, the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry.

Member-secretary of the Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute, Shaibal Gupta, the only member from Bihar on the panel, attended the meeting.

The committee has been asked to draw parameters for redefining backwardness of states on the basis of difference in per capita income and other indicators of human development of a state with the national average. It can suggest any other method to determine the backwardness of states. It would also suggest the weightage to be given to each criterion.

Nitish has been demanding special status to Bihar for the past five years. He even asserted that he would extend support to that formation at the Centre, which would accord special status to the state.

After his demand was dismissed on the grounds that Bihar did not fit the bill for getting special status, Nitish started demanding a change in criteria.

Chidambaram, the Union finance minister, had announced the constitution of the special committee to “revisit” the criteria of determining the backwardness of states during his one-day visit to Bihar on May 11. Besides Rajan and Gupta, the other members of the committee are Indian Statistical Institute professor Bharat Ramaswami and Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung. Niraja G. Jayal, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Planning Commission adviser Tuhin Pandey.