Adani Enterprises has announced a fresh investment of around Rs 8,000 crore in Bihar, as a part of the over Rs 50,500-crore investment proposals envisaged under various memorandums of understandings (MoUs) signed during the two-day Bihar Business Connect summit in Patna.
The summit also saw the State Government signing MoUs with Bharat Petroleum for an investment of over Rs 7,000 crore, with Patel Agri for investment of over Rs 5,200 crore, with Holtech International for investment of over Rs 2,200 crore, and with Indo European Heart Hospitals & Research Institute for over Rs 2,000, among others. As many as 300 companies signed MoUs.
Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, said, “Adani Group has already invested Rs 850 crore in Bihar and now plans to increase this investment ten-fold to more than Rs 8,000 crore,” adding that the group is also opening a cement industry in the state. It will also invest in a logistics park.
Kamal Oswal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Nahar Group of Industries, said his group is building a logistics park in Bihar at a cost of Rs 300 crore. Hasmukh Ranjan, Chief Information Officer of AMD, said that IT will become a premium industry in Bihar because the environment is suitable for it. “Three things are required for the IT sector: talent, infrastructure, and willpower. All three are abundantly available in Bihar,” he added.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, the State’s Industry Minister, Sameer Kumar Mahaseth, pressed for the fulfilment of three demands to accelerate growth. The rains in Nepal cause much destruction in Bihar. If an agreement on water management is reached with Nepal, then Bihar can be saved from the disaster of floods. If Bihar gets the status of a special state, its industrial development will accelerate further. “The third important point is that if Bihar is included in the Special Economic Zone, its economic development will further increase,” he said.
Calling Bihar the youngest state in the country, Mahaseth highlighted that 53 per cent of its population is aged under 35. Bihar has made rapid progress in the areas of electricity, water, and roads, making it an ideal destination for investment. Nearly 12 departments of the state are coordinating to support entrepreneurs. The state has 3,000 acres available for industry and is attempting to create a land bank of another 3,000 acres, he added.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Industry Department Sandeep Poundrik highlighted the state’s economic and industrial development. He said setting up industries in Bihar is easy due to the presence of a market, raw materials, infrastructure, workforce, and government support. Additionally, the state government provides attractive subsidies and incentives to entrepreneurs through its industrial policie.