''PASHU MITRAS'' Patna Municipal Corporation to provide a shelter for stray dogs

If all goes well, Patna roads will become free of stray dogs as plans are afoot to make shelters for them where they would also be sterilized. It's not the  Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) which has come out of its slumber and become aware of its responsibility, but a private organization called Public Rehabilitation and Welfare Centre (PRWC) which plans to make a network of 'pashu mitras' who will catch stray dogs, take them to the shelter and sterilize them in a sympathetic manner.

PRWC secretary Ragini Ranjan spoke on this concept of 'pashu mitra' while addressing a seminar on 'Prevention of cruelty against animals' on Saturday. As per Ranjan, the PRWC will coordinate with PMC, animal welfare societies and veterinary colleges. "We are in talks with PMC to provide a shelter for stray dogs where they can be kept, given tranquillizers and finally sterilized. We will seek the vets' support for the purpose," said Ranjan.

The PMC always rues its manpower crunch, but the organization already has enough of it and only requires the municipal body's support. Ranjan also said counselling is also an essential part of the drive. "Even the PMC staff involved in the drive will be counselled. This will reduce the number of stray dogs and it is a proven fact that when their numbers decrease, those of horses and camels increase," she said.

When asked if there is any shelter for stray dogs now, she answered in negative and said the PRWC would appeal to the state government to provide a piece of land to make a shelter. With a team of ten members who will keep a vigil in the entire city, PRWC will start working on this drive next month.

Besides, PRWC members will also interact with local milkmen and counsel them not to administer Oxytocin, a vaccine banned for sale over the counter but used by them on cows and buffaloes for increased milk. It is not good for the health of these animals, she said.

SOURCE:Anisha Anand,TNN

Bihar Diwas celebrations organised at SK Memorial Hall in Patna

Around 2.2 crore children studying in 72,000 government primary, middle and high schools of Bihar today affirmed that they have secured promises from their parents that they will cast vote in the Lok Sabha elections. 

Diwas celebrations across the state. 

The massive election awareness campaign was taken up as part of the 102nd Bihar 

It was conducted by the education department in partnership with the Election Commission. 

Speaking about the campaign at a function organised at SK Memorial Hall here, education department's Principal Secretary Amarjeet Sinha said, 2.2 crore children enrolled in state's 72,000 schools submitted forms, filled and signed by their parents, that they would participate in voting. 

Apart from it, several cultural programmes on social issues are also being organised at the schools to mark the 102nd Bihar foundation day. 

The Bihar Diwas function was inaugurated by state Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Sinha, in the presence of several top bureaucrats of the state. 

No minister or politician could attend the programme as the model code of conduct for elections is in force. 

Kuchipudi dance exponents and Padma Shri awardees Jayaram Rao and Vanashree performed on this occasion. It was followed by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt regaling the audience with his magical touch on Mohan Veena. 

Bihar Diwas is celebrated on March 22 every year as Bihar was separated from Bengal Presidency on this day in 1902. The entire state will celebrate the occasion till March 24.

The 102nd Bihar Diwas celebrations concluded recently with the promise of a bigger and better version of the festival next year. 

The three-day celebrations organized at SK Memorial Hall were inaugurated by Ashok Sinha, chief secretary of the state and saw a range of cultural programmes. Bureaucrats and academicians made up the eager audience.We spotted IPS PK Thakur being given company by IPS PN Rai. Bureaucrats Dharmendra Kumar, Brajesh Mehrotra and Maya Shankar too were spotted enjoying the event. 

Kuchipudi dance performance by Jairam Rao and his team was the main attraction of day one. Geeta Chandran's Bharatnatyam performance wowed Patnaites on the second day. The marvellous cosmic dance of Shiva by Vakkom Sajeev describing various aspects of Lord Shiva made it a divine experience for the spectators. 

source :TOI,&PTI

Dr.Arbind Sinha,from Jamshedpur invented spray for broken bones because his mother was always tense bone pain,

Jamshedpur.   problem, suffering, pain, people usually get nervous. The pitched face it, they are doing something which is good for society. 

India - the world reaches advantage. Dr Arvind Sinha are such a person, which has not suffered the pain of mothers and drug discovery, is the misery of millions today. Dr. Sinha National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), Jamshedpur as Senior Principal Scientist. He has invented a spray, broken bones, which do not need to add steel plates. Rather, the bones fuse to spray only.

came the idea that:-

 Dr Sinha said that my mother was always tense bone pain. Again and again the question was something that made it so that the mother could get rid of the pain. I was the group leader of NML's Bayometlrgikl department, then got the opportunity to research and drug discovery. 

Dr. Sinha, a chemical discovered in 2003, which will be added to the spray only broken bones. The chemical name,"Biomimetic Composite Nano-Sized Carbonate-Substituted Hydroxyapatite " Calcium salts and polymers, using material made before the powder. During operation is sprayed on crushed bones and plaster is sprinkled on top. Not only is added to the schedule after the bone, is rather like before.

 "An important inorganic phase for synthetic bone applications, calcium hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂), was prepared as a nano-sized (∼50 nm), homogeneous and high-purity ceramic powder from calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and diammonium hydrogen phosphate salts dissolved in modified synthetic body fluid (SBF) solutions at 37°C and pH of 7.4 using a novel chemical precipitation technique. The synthesized precursors were found to easily reach a phase purity >99% after 6 h of calcination in air atmosphere at 900°C, following oven drying at 80°C. There was observed, surprisingly, no decomposition of HA into the undesired β-TCP phase even after heating at 1600°C in air for 6 h. This observation showed the superior high-temperature stability of such `biomimetic’ HA powders as compared to those reported in previous studies. The former powders were also found to contain trace amounts of Na and Mg ions, originating from the use of SBF solutions instead of pure water during their synthesis. Characterization and chemical analaysis of the synthesized powders were performed by X-ray powder diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy

USP: Research has taken care of the powder to be made ​​so that the temperature of the air taken not to damage or take out. The powder can be placed anywhere in the room is open.

Being added by injecting bone

 

Many times due to accidental injury, broken bones, doctors and patients have trouble connecting.To overcome this problem a new technique developed by Dr. Sinha. He injected by injection of bone connecting the system is discovered. Dr Sinha has created a special injection which is injected above the bone on the wound and broken bone can be added too.

source:dainik bhaskar.com,vikash srivastava IST

California-based Indian filmmaker Ravi Verma hails from Katihar,Bihar is set to make "Viva Democracy".

          

Patna, March 27:  A documentary focusing on the nine-phased 16th Lok Sabha elections that

 involve 814 million voters. He says the purpose is to show the "people's perspective" on the

 battle of the ballot and draw a contrast between the Indian and US election processes.

"We will shoot the documentary from the first week of April till the end of the Lok 

Sabha polls in May. We will mainly shoot in Bihar as well as other places across

 India," Verma, who hails from Katihar, around 350 km from Patna, told IANS on phone 

from Rocklin, California.

He has received approval from the Ministry of External Affairs to make the film. He added that 

the purpose is to show the contrast of the election process in the two largest democracies - 

India and the US.

During the Lok Sabha elections, starting April 7, the filmmaker wishes to capture the vibrant 

nature of the polls that he grew up watching. The whole exercise of polling in 543 

constituencies at about 930,000 polling stations across the country will be over in 72 days.

Verma is keen to show how common people belonging to different economic statuses, castes,

 gender, and religions view the election. In India, elections are boisterous events with rallies and

 slogans.

Comparatively, elections in the US are sedate. "Shooting and capturing India's election from 

people's perspective is a big challenge for a documentary maker," Verma said.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Kanpur, Verma, who migrated to the US 

in the 1990s, has maintained a strong bond with his hometown. He owns a software firm in 

California and he set up its subsidiary firm in Katihar in 2005.

In 2013 he released "Journey of the Heart", a documentary sponsored by the 

Government of India.

Last time he had brought crew from Hollywood to Bihar to shoot the film, but this time he plans

 to use local talent to capture the election. He has been training a group of youngsters in Katihar

 in cinematography and sound techniques.

source :By Imran Khan | IANS India Private Limited,The Republic News Network

Bihar is only state developing more than 800 acres grassland for Tiger reserve.

India's biggest grassland of over 800 acres in its only tiger reserve in the state's northeast to provide a wildlife friendly environment for the big cats whose numbers have doubled in the last three years.

"We have decided to turn 800 hectares of forest in the tiger reserve into the biggest grassland in the country. The work has already begun to clean the bushes of unwanted species like mikenia, eupatorium and phoenix – which are the main cause of fires – to convert it into a grassland," Santosh Tiwari, director-cum-conservator of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district that borders Nepal, told IANS, in an inteview.

Tiwari said there is no place in the country with such a large grassland.

"We have estimated we will spend Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million)," he said, adding that lack of funds had delayed the project. One other major problem is that residents of bordering villages of Uttar Pradesh used the core forest area of the reserve for grazing their cattle.

"We will have to fence and develop grassland to check the grazing of cattle," Tiwari said.

He said that after the grassland was fully developed, it will become a safe zone for tigers as well as deer in the reserve. More grassland will support more prey animals, which will in turn support more tigers.

According to him, the Madanpur forest range in the tiger reserve is home to many herbivores because the rich alluvial soil enriched by the river Gandak has favoured the growth of grasses. The grasses in the reserve include imperata cylindrica, saccharum spontaneum and saccharum munja.

Samir Kumar Sinha of the Wildlife Trust of India, which is helping the forest department to develop the grassland, said the tiger reserve had more grassland in the past; this gradually turned into woodland due to lack of management. People also turned them into agricultural land.

Thanks to the improvement in the condition of the grassland, the number of tigers in the reserve has more than doubled in the last three years. Mixed forest vegetation is crucial for the herbivores as they are important sources of food. The availability of quality food boosts their chances of breeding.

"We have counted 22 tigers in the reserve at present on the basis of camera trap census," Tiwari said. The number of tigers was only 10 till 2010.

"In last three years, the population of tigers has jumped like never before in the 899 sq km reserve. Besides, intensive patrolling by local youth played a major role in checking the entry of poachers and others in the reserve," Tiwari noted.

source :dna-Agency: IANS

AAP Candidate from Jhanjharpur, Bihar, Tiliya Devi, is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Outlook 'Speak Out' awardee.

Tiliya has managed to bring dignity to the people of an entire community, rallying them to fight for their rights against traditionally superior forces.

As far as Dalit communities go, there are few that are more ‘Dalit’ than the Mushar                             community in Madhubani, Bihar. The lives of most Mushars begins and ends on farmlands -                             as bonded laborers  trying to repay generations-old unending debts, which, in fact, multiply with                 each passing day.

Tiliya Devi was born into one such family in 1963. Going to school and getting an education was out of the question, and she started to work with her parents at a local landowner’s farm from the time she was a toddler. As is usually the case in such communities, Tiliya was married off at 14: she is today mother of two daughters and three sons. And again, as is usually the case, Tiliya continued to be a bonded laborer - at her husband’s house.

Tiliya then joined the Lok Shakti Sangathan (LSS) - not an easy thing, since her husband had put his foot down. But a lot of other Mushar women were doing the same, which fact helped convince her husband.

After joining the LSS, Tiliya quickly learnt to read and write, and received what passes for the best possible substitute for a formal education, under the circumstances. She was also given training as a “social animator”, a training designed by the organization for the express purpose of cadre-building. The LSS has developed more than 1000 volunteers through this training.

Tiliya was a born leader, something no one was aware of, least of all she herself. And when the LSS wanted to add more numbers to its campaigns, Tiliya volunteered to rally women around from the villages in the vicinity. In every village she went to, she helped set up a Gramkosh, a common fund where every villager deposits money for an hour of need, or crisis. Her leadership and organizational capabilities were outstanding, and she soon established herself.

The Mushars were all farmers, but because of the lack of land in their settlements, they were forced to be “bonded” with big landlords. Tiliya discovered a 156–acre plot of land in her village belonging to the Dalits which upper caste Yadav landlords had encroached on.

Tiliya called a meeting of the villagers to democratically check whether they wanted the land reclaimed or allowed to remain with the upper-castes. The men refused outright to protest. There was such outrage that Tiliya’s husband threw her out of the house, refusing to have anything to do with her or her “schemes”. The reason: the men so feared a backlash from the traditionally more powerful sections of society that they would rather stay away even if the possibilities were lucrative.

But the Mushar women sided with Tiliya: they wanted the land back. Gradually, the Mushar men came round. The women had already started the struggle, and with the men by their side, their strength grew. The Yadavs attacked Tiliya’s community with weapons and beat up the men, the women, even the children. They looted all the Mushars’ cattle and torched their homes.

Tiliya wasn’t about to give up, and neither were the rest of the Mushars. She filed a case against the attackers, and, supported by the LSS, started a dharna at a local government administrative office. The Yadavs retaliated by bringing false reverse charges of assault and looting against Tiliya and another member of her group. But the protest continued unabated.

It finally paid off. Since 1994, Tiliya and her villagers had moved into the land and established their settlements - but extralegally. In 2004, official papers were handed to Tiliya, naming her people as the rightful owners of the land.

In 2001, Tiliya contested the Panchayat elections and was appointed a member to the Panchayat Samity. Her victory came almost undisputed. She has been working as a Panchayat Samity member ever since.

Tiliya brought a measure of dignity to the people of an entire community: 70 households in Madhubani have benefited from her singleminded devotion to her work and her conviction. Not so indirectly, she has influenced a community of more than 50,000 Dalits.

Tiliya Devi (born 1963), from the Mushar community in the Dalit heartland in Bihar, grew up as most Mushar girls do: slaving as a bonded laborer. She was married off at 14, and continued being a bonded laborer-at her husband's house. The lives of the Mushar women took a turn for the better when the Lok Shakti Sangathan (LSS) came to their villages, promising them training in developmental work, and improved living conditions. Tiliya joined the campaign despite opposition from her husband. The Mushars were all farmers, but because of the lack of land in their settlements, they were forced to be "bonded" with big landlords. Tiliya discovered a 156–acre plot of land in her village belonging to the Dalits which upper-caste Yadav landlords had encroached on. Initiating a series of protest rallies, Tiliya spread the word for the imperative to reclaim the land that was rightfully theirs. The men refused outright, although the women stood beside Tiliya. There was such outrage that Tiliya's husband evicted her from the house. The reason: fear of a backlash from the upper-castes. And the upper-castes, obviously, vented their fury, attacking the Mushar men, women, even children. They looted the Mushars' cattle, and torched their houses.

But Tiliya was not about to give up, and neither were the rest of the Mushars. Supported by the LSS, Tiliya led a protest and charted out their demands. The agitation finally bore fruit in 2004, when the land was legally handed over to the Mushars. In 2001, Tiliya contested the Panchayat elections and was appointed member to the Panchayat Samity. Her victory came almost undisputed. No justice could have been sweeter.

Bihar's Mushars are among the most neglected of Dalit communities: the upper-castes rob them of their meager possessions, and mire them in inheritable debt, forcing the Mushars to spend their lives as bonded laborers.

(Source : http://www.1000peacewomen.org/eng/friedensfrauen_biographien_gefunden.php?WomenID=2317) 

     Samajik Shaikshnik Vikas Kendra (SSVK)

The "RETREAT" shelter for senior citizens at patna- by two young MBAs - Amrita Kumari and Alka Kumari .

It's a home away from home for elderly persons who are in need of shelter, love, affection, reverence and comforts. The 'Retreat' not only provides a roof for senior citizens but also take care of their basic needs.

Developed and devised by two young MBAs - Amrita Kumari and Alka Kumari - it is nestled at 255/A, Pataliputra Colony. A five-bed home, with one bed especially for ailing person, with two full-time caretakers and a cook, 'Retreat' is a composite shelter. Apart from this, the building has been converted into a modern home for elderly with the facilities like a library, physio care services, TV, music system and indoor games like carrom board, chess, billiards etc for recreation and round the clock access to a doctor, apart from weekly health check-ups. It is managed by Bhuwaneshwar Educational and Social Trust.

When asked as to what prompted them to start such a venture, Amrita, the honorary director of the 'Retreat', says, "There has been a rising trend among the urban elderly people who move out of their homes to the habitats especially catering to their needs, to spend rest of their life in peace and comfort. Apart from this, there are many senior citizens who are neglected by their children and other members of the family. There are some who are issueless and have none to call their own. A good number of elderly persons have sufficient income for their living but no relatives to take care of them in their old age and sickness. These elderly persons get serious psychological depression. So, we decided to do something for them and create a safe place where they can live with dignity and interact with their peers."

Says Alka, the CEO of 'Retreat', "Keeping all these in mind, we decided to address this need by establishing a home where the neglected elderly people can get emotional support and respect. We also intend to support the hobbies of the elderly."

As for the rules are concerned, admission is open to any senior citizen of Indian origin who can't lead his/her life due to loneliness or in absence of any attendant/person to take care of, or those who can't manage their livelihood adequately due to old age factor or neglected by their kin and wish to serve the society for their remaining part of life and want to share their knowledge and experiences with the younger generation. The applicant will be required to submit reports of the tests advised by the old age home. The doctor assigned by the 'Retreat' will examine the test reports and admission will be confirmed only on his approval.

The charges are now Rs 12,000 per person per month. "Once all the beds are full, we will quickly hire a bigger house where we can accommodate at least 15 persons," said Amrita.

source :TOI

Bihar born from a small village of samastipur district Mr. Rakesh Kumar, 37, an IIT-Varanasi and IIM-A graduate and one of the Experifun’s co-founders,said “There is a need for us to see whether we can challenge the status quo,” Experifun lets students hear plants making food and much more.

THE EXPERIFUN TEAM WITH RAKESH KUMAR (THIRD FROM LEFT) AND VIVEK PANDAY (FOURTH FROM LEFT)........image-Experifun. 

Don't you think you would have studied photosynthesis better if you had more fun with it? Maybe it would have been more interesting if you could hear the plant actually making food. Crazy  as it sounds, it would have made learning more fun.

Unfortunately, the Indian education system continues to be characterised by rote learning and very little critical thinking, although things are changing slowly. That's where companies like Experifun come in: these firms are eyeing the opportunity to make the classroom experience more interactive and yes, interesting. “Newton said gravitational acceleration is 9.8 m/s, but no one ever questioned that.”

Kumar said Experifun was born out of a conversation with an IIM-A professor that left both Kumar and his IIT batch mate Vivek Pandey, 37, stumped. Started in March 2012, Experifun designs and develops next-generation science exploratory gadgets that introduce interactive learning to classrooms.

It all started when Kumar and Pandey were trying to develop a household cleaning device and wanted to pick Kumar’s professor’s brain (the professor chose to remain unnamed). “He has a reputation for being a very blunt person,” Kumar noted, adding, “he can understand things well and bring your case down with a decisive argument.”

While discussing robotics, the professor asked them something very fundamental to engineering - "Why is Laplace (a mathematical function) fundamental to so many solutions?" Neither of them could answer that, which got them thinking. “We realised that we went to some of the best school in India and still didn’t fully understand ideas and concepts,” Kumar explained. “If we were struggling, we wondered what the situation is like for students from Tier-II and Tier-III colleges.”

The cleaning device idea was shelved as Kumar and Pandey decided to turn their attention to education, focusing on how children learn in the classrooms.

The duo wanted students to connect what they learnt with their everyday lives. Since most classroom lessons, however, comprise of chalks and blackboards, and the occasional laboratory experiments, Kumar and Pandey decided to bridge the gap they felt existed between theory and practice in science lessons.

The team used their engineering backgrounds and years of software experience to work on innovative products, such as the Plantell, a battery-operated device that allows students to hear plants during photosynthesis. The company's inventory includes over 20 products, such as a charge sensor; the Movecule, which helps children understand relatively abstract concepts like heat energy at the molecular level; and HeatBlink, which tests the conductivity of various bodies.

They conducted testing sessions with children across Bangalore, interacted with parents and piloted the concept in schools to gauge whether it would fly or not.

While they had the science part covered, Kumar and Pandey knew they needed someone to implement the design aspect of their ideas and products. “We want to marry technology and design because in the long run, that will be our key-differentiator,” Kumar said. To achieve that end, the company hired designers from MIT, Pune, in August 2012.

With an initial investment of Rs 40 lakh, Experifun applied to the National Design Business Incubator (part of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad) in December 2012. Selected start-ups present products that are judged by a panel of noted academics and government officials keeping the design quality in mind. The company emerged as one of the winners and was awarded Rs 10 lakh in debt, Rs 5 lakh in equity and a one-year moratorium on a loan at 5 percent interest. These were in addition to the usual perks of gaining mentors, networking and the like.

In January 2013, the team started marketing their experimental products to schools in 'Smart-lab-in-class' offerings called Caboodles. A Caboodle includes an innovative range of products, a one-year warranty and support, a manual, teacher's training videos, teachers' workshops, a lesson plan and co-branding material (if the school opts for it). Caboodle offerings are available for CBSE, ICSE, Cambridge, IB and state boards, from Class 6 to Class 10.

By the end of the year, Kumar and Pandey found out about the Edupreneurs program launched by the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund (PALF) and US-based Village Capital. Fifteen shortlisted companies, selected from over 125 applicants underwent three months of workshops that involved pitching to peers, investors, and prospective customers. Experifun emerged as one of the winners of the program and received $75,000 as venture capital.

“The program was for companies that target low-income schools, with innovation being the main driver,” Kumar added.

"Experifun is dedicated to making science fun and easy for children through effective experiential learning," said Amar Kumar, senior associate at PALF. "The company’s commitment to putting the learner at the heart of its product and strategy, and building quality products that prove they advance learner outcomes, make it an ideal partner for Pearson."

Kumar and Pandey want their products to be accessible to all types of schools -- from international to state-run schools in small cities.  Hence, Experifun is very conscious about its pricing, Kumar pointed out, adding that in general, the kits are affordable for schools as they cost Rs 400-Rs 500 per month.

The response, so far, has been encouraging, with about 70 schools signing up for Caboodles, including one in the Philippines, in just under two years. “ The outcome has been phenomenal and we have been able to bring our innovative yet affordable products to schools, with the pricing working out to as low as Rs 10-Rs 15 per month per child for schools,” Kumar noted.

It isn't hard to believe that the product has done well with schools. M B Nagabhooshana, a science teacher and the principal of Bangalore's Guru Darshan Public School, has used Experifun Caboodles for the past year for high school students. "We have killed the experimental behaviour of students," Nagabhooshana observed, " but these devices bring it back. The children start to experiment immediately." Nagabhooshanan doesn't stick to the grade labels of Experifun and mixes around devices - using a Grade 5 product to explain a Grade 9 or 10 concept.  He confesses to sometimes tinkering with a few of the devices just to "satisfy my curiosity."

The PALF-Village Fund infusions will help Experifun grow by increasing its team strength, building new products and partnerships and reaching more schools across India. After Bangalore, Experifun is eyeing tapping schools in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.

The team also wants to make Experifun available to the masses and is currently discussing ideas about retailing their kits in stores soon.

source:firstbiz,by kamakshi Ayyar,

Bihar has remarkable improvement in economic and social performance.

Bihar has long been India’s poorest, most backward state, riddled with misgovernance, caste wars, gangster-ism, Maoism and hopelessness. There was an old joke that when British India was being partitioned in 1947, Indian PM Nehru told his Pakistani counterpart that he could have the disputed state of Kashmir provided he took Bihar and UP too. These two states, with a combined population today of over 300 million, were seen as a terrible drag on the rest of India, having some of the lowest growth rates and social indicators among Indian states.

Yet Bihar has undergone a veritable revolution since a new dynamic chief minister, Nitish Kumar, came to power in 2005 (and was re-elected in 2010 with a landslide majority). If we look at data available from 2006-07 to 2011-12, Bihar averaged GDP growth rate of a whopping 10.87%. This was the highest among major states, and well above the national average of 8.29%. Bihar has started pulling up the rest of India. This merits international attention because Bihar has a population of 100 million, more than that of all except a handful of countries. Unlike some other developmental successes, Bihar’s is not a boutique success: it is success on a grand scale. However, despite this sharp improvement, consumption (measured by per capita monthly rural spending) remains close to the lowest among all states.

Fast growth has driven down the headcount poverty ratio in Bihar, which used to be India’s poorest state. The ratio was as high as 56% in 2004-05 (a drought year), and has crashed to just 33.74% in 2011-12. This is a dramatic decline. So, although its consumption levels remain among the lowest, Bihar has ceased to be India’s poorest state—five other states now have a higher poverty headcount ratio (although three of these are tiny mini-states and so not strictly comparable). The all-India poverty ratio declined sharply in the same period from 37% to 22%, but this decline was not as fast as in Bihar. The all-India performance as well as Bihar’s performance showed that, contrary to much leftist theorising, faster growth is indeed a major force in reducing poverty.

Many of the state’s social indicators have improved dramatically too. This helps falsify the supposed trade-off between growth and equity. The plain fact is that growth is vital for improving not only incomes but government revenues required for providing public goods (essential infrastructure and social services). Of course, fast growth also requires good governance, to ensure that the new revenues are utilised well. In 2001-11, Bihar’s literacy rate improved 16.8 percentage points and female literacy by a whopping 20%. The state historically had a very high infant mortality rate, but in 2011, Bihar’s caught up with the national average at 44 infant deaths per thousand births. Polio, a scourge of the ages, was finally eradicated in Bihar and UP in 2011 (it had been eradicated in other states earlier).

Bihar continues to have the least family planning and hence the highest population growth rate (2.1% per year) among major states. But with labour scarcity growing and wages rising fast in India, what used to be condemned as a ‘population explosion’ is now being hailed as a ‘demographic dividend.’ Low wages and fast population growth, which historically kept Bihar poor, now promise to give the state a competitive edge and drive fast growth for decades to come.

In the bad old days of Bihar, many of these theories could be used to explain the state’s dismal performance. But its new dynamism after 2005 was based on two main pillars—a crackdown on gangsters and massive road building. One consequence was that the total number of registered vehicles in the state quadrupled from just 80,000 in 2005-06 to 3,19,000 by 2009-10. The taming of crime hugely improved the investment climate, and fast road-building (plus India’s broader telecom revolution) provided economic opportunities in villages that earlier had no infrastructure and hence no opportunities. However, just these two factors, public safety plus roads, would not have produced double-digit GDP growth in Bihar without all-India reforms since 1991 that helped accelerate growth. The more advanced coastal states were the first to take advantage of new opportunities created by economic liberalisation, but in the last decade, the backward

BIMAROU states (Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, Odisha and UP) have began to do the same. Bihar is the best example among BIMAROU states, thanks in no small measure to the dynamism and the improvement in economic freedom Nitish Kumar has brought in as CM from 2005 onwards.

In the year 2000, Jharkhand was carved out of the original Bihar state. Jharkhand was a thinly-populated, highly-forested tribal belt. In India, tribal areas are often viewed as backward. Yet the partition gave Jharkhand almost all the coal and minerals of the original state, and four major industrial cities and steel mills at Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro and Sindri. Bihar was left with an overwhelmingly agrarian area, which had a very high population density and tiny land holdings. However, Jharkhand was left with major disadvantages too. It was predominantly a tribal area with dense forest and limited infrastructure, and this offsets to some extent the advantages of mineral deposits and a few industrial cities. But this cannot explain why Jharkhand has even lower per capita expenditure and a higher poverty headcount ratio than Bihar. A significant reason for this is massive misgovernance in Jharkhand, and the lack of a dynamic leader like Nitish Kumar. This is reflected in a decline in economic freedom scores in Jharkhand, in contrast to a substantial increase in freedom scores in Bihar.

After partition, Bihar’s share of industry in net state domestic product crashed from 22.5% to a calamitously low 4.6%, while that of Jharkhand went up to 37%. The royalties and tax base from minerals and the big industrial cities all went to Jharkhand, leaving Bihar in desperate fiscal straits. Besides, almost all of the original composite state’s coal and power stations went to Jharkhand. Bihar has by far the lowest per capita consumption of power (122 kWh) among Indian states, less than one-tenth that of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh or Himachal Pradesh, one reason for its tiny industrial base. New power plants are finally coming up in the state, and hopefully will help correct the current lopsided pattern of development. Be that as it may, Bihar has been an eye-opener in demonstrating

how even lopsided development can achieve huge increases in GDP and reductions in poverty in a poor, backward state without electricity.

Annual Economic Freedom of the States of India (EFSI) reports have long shown a link between economic freedom and fast GDP growth. But Bihar may in some respects look an outlive. Its economic freedom scores continue to be the lowest among states, yet it has been a growth champion. One explanation is that while Bihar’s scores remain dismal, they nevertheless show an improvement of almost a quarter since 2005, much faster than the national average. Second, when the state shrinks to the point where it cannot provide physical security or basic infrastructure, it means anarchy and gangster rule. To the extent that gangsters are linked with a corrupt political class, what earlier looked small government in spending terms was actually a huge political footprint that undercuts the rule of law. In such circumstances, the restoration of safety and basic infrastructure produced spectacular growth, even though other indicators of economic freedom did not show dramatic change. A third explanation is that the state enjoyed a huge increase in transfers from the central government in the last decade, thanks in part to the revenue bonanza New Delhi reaped from fast growth catalysed by economic liberalization.

Extracted from the Economic Freedom of the States of India (EFSI), 2013, report

source: THE FINANCIAL  EXPRESS,Thrusday, March 20, 2014