Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bihar – Winds of Change

Last month, I came across a report from CLSA on Bihar. Two research guys Anirudha Dutta & Srinivas Radhakrishan visited Bihar for five days. They covered Patna, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Hajipur & Nalanda. So research was done at “Grass Root” level. There were some sensational facts that came out during their visit to Bihar. Some of them are as under:
·         In 2010, Bihar attracted more tourists than Goa.
·         Mobile subscribers growing at 62% CAGR which is fastest in India.
·         Kidnapping was the fastest growing industry before 6 years. After Mr. Nitish Kumar came to power, he has appointed 5000 SAP (Special Auxiliary Police) to catch criminals and put them behind bars.
·          A speedy trial of criminal cases in courts has resulted in nearly 50000 criminals being put behind bars.
·         Shops used to shut before sunset, now remain open till 9.00 pm.
·         Cleanliness around the city streets caught their eyes.
·         There were many sites of highway construction. Two-way lane with no potholes.
·         Government recruited 2.5 lakh teachers. Ratio is now 1 teacher per 100 students. Just imagine what would have been the ratio before?
·         New bicycles were visible in school parking area. Bicycles were directly distributed to students.
·         In last election 30% of Muslims voted for BJP. This shows people want Growth over Religion.
·         Tax collections have increased 23% CAGR over last 5 years.
·         NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has been a big success. No problem of labour availability in Bihar.
·          Land & real-estate prices have shot up in last 6 years.
·         ICICI Prudential Life Insurance collected highest premium in east India.
·         Maruti sold 300 cars in 2005. Now they sell minimum 500 cars in any month.
·         Advertisement of tuition classes, computer coaching etc visible on banners & billboards. Finally people of Bihar are getting aware of importance of education.
·         Toyota opened showroom in Patna last year & Honda is going to open soon.
·         Patna & Muzzaffarpur enjoyed 20-22 hours of power supply. Invertors & generators sales have gone down substantially.
·         20-25% growth of HDFC Bank in Bihar is no challenge.
·         Demographic Dividend – 58% of population is below the age of 25.

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