Aim to attract Rs 50 lakh crore investment over next 5 years: Bihar CM

Patna, Dec 6 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said the state has set a target of attracting investment worth Rs 50 lakh crore over the next five years, as part of a major push to industrial development and job creation.

The chief minister, who chaired a review meeting of the Industries Department, said a high-level panel has been formed to prepare and monitor an action plan for establishing a defence corridor, semiconductor manufacturing park, global capability centre, mega tech city and fintech city in Bihar.

“For the rapid economic progress of any state and for generating employment, large-scale industrialisation is essential. The Bihar government has taken significant steps in this direction,” Kumar wrote in a post on X.

“To place Bihar among the country’s top five investment-friendly states, we have begun work on an action plan to attract Rs 50 lakh crore in investment in the next five years.” Kumar said the state has a strong rule-of-law framework and an improved law and order situation, and efforts are being made to ensure that youth no longer have to migrate for employment.

The Industries Department will hold investor conferences in major commercial centres in India and abroad to attract large-scale investments, he added.

The chief minister said the action plan includes promoting ease of doing business, setting up five mega food parks, creating modern food processing and logistics facilities, developing 10 industrial parks and 100 MSME parks, training seven lakh people in industry-relevant skills, and establishing a Directorate of MSMEs along with MSME centres in all districts.

Facilitating export and marketing of local products is also a key focus, he said.

Another top committee has been constituted to prepare and monitor an action plan to develop Bihar as a “global back-end hub” and “global workplace”, he said.

Kumar highlighted the state’s industrial growth over the years, noting that the number of industrial areas has increased from 46 in 2005 to 94 in 2025, and industrial units have risen from 1,674 to 3,500 in the same period. Exports have grown from Rs 25 crore in 2005 to Rs 17,000 crore in 2025, he said.

The number of MSMEs has surged from 72,000 in 2005 to 35 lakh in 2025, and the contribution of industries to Bihar’s GSDP has risen from 5.4 per cent to over 21 per cent, Kumar said, attributing the growth to the state’s policy initiatives.

A total of 44,073 entrepreneurs have been given incentives under the Chief Minister Entrepreneur Scheme, helping promote self-employment and job creation.

Kumar said steps are being taken to boost employment-oriented activities in startups and other new-age sectors for local youth and entrepreneurs.

The chief minister said work is being expedited on the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster spread over 1,700 acres in Dobhi, Gaya, which will be inaugurated soon. On the lines of the 14,036-acre IMC model covering 29 districts, 31 new industrial parks - including 10 sector-specific parks such as textile and pharma parks - will be developed. An estimated Rs 26,000 crore will be spent on rapid industrial development, he said.

“All basic infrastructure required for industries – road connectivity, rail and air links, and uninterrupted power supply – is now available in Bihar,” Kumar asserted. PTI PKD RBT