OP Shah

Patna, May 24: Bihar is set for a new era in industries by mid-July.

Top government sources said a plan is being mooted to start 27 new industrial units at an investment of Rs 659 crore.

The sources said that the mid-July inauguration, to be done by chief minister Nitish Kumar with the press of a button, has been approved by the government’s Project Approval and Monitoring Committee headed by a senior IAS officer. The inauguration, with a flourish, is intended to send the signal to Nitish’s critics who are targeting the government for having failed to attract industry.

“The flow of investment is a continuous process. But several of the units are on the verge of completion and are expected to start production by June-end or mid-July,” said C.K. Mishra, principal secretary, industry.

Mishra pointed out that the Abhijit Group has already invested Rs 1,616 crore in the power sector. “However, the thrust area remains food processing,” the officer told The Telegraph.

It is not surprising, therefore, that all the 27 industrial units which are expected to take off in July are related to food processing. The vision document prepared by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited in 2008 visualised an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in this sector in the next 10 years through the creation of food processing parks, rural agro-business centres and clusters for makhana, rice and maize processing.

It has cited the strong agro base the state has — annually producing 50 lakh metric tonnes of rice, 130 lakh metric tonnes of vegetables, 30 lakh metric tonnes of fruits besides unique produces such as makhana and litchi. “The vision is finally giving fruit,” said a senior officer.

The state now boasts of 461 proposals that have an estimated investment of Rs 2.28 lakh crore. Of this, Rs 2,000 crore has already been invested in 149 projects.

The new industries policy to be announced by the government includes 10 per cent more incentive for industries following the job reservation quota for enterprises which create 100 jobs a year. The government is hopeful that once the new industries policy is announced, it would encourage more investment, especially in the food sector.

“There is a basic difference between food processing units and other industries being sought to be brought into Bihar. In other industries, from detergents to automobiles, we are one of the largest consumers in the country. But it is in the agriculture sector that we are not only consumers but also surplus producers. This sector has vast potential,” said president of the Bihar Chamber of Commerce, O.P. Sah.

He said the government was going in the right direction by focusing on agro-industries rather than going in for mega industrial units.

During the NDA-I regime, Nitish had toyed with the idea of inviting big corporate houses to invest in the state.

However, through the years, with big bucks not coming in due to shortage of power and other infrastructure, the focus has shifted to smaller investments.

The state has recently got the investment of three major biscuit manufacturing units.

Now the attention appears to have been redirected towards food processing.