Record growth in Bihar "said Onno Ruhl Bank's country director , however, the challenge ahead is to sustain this growth rate and for that private investment is needed. Bihar needs a lot of investments,as he said.

As the Bihar government is planning to invest Rs 25,000 crore to revamp its electricity distribution network and seeking funds from various international financial institutions the World Bank has shown interest in financing it in this sector.

According to the World Bank Country Director Onno Ruhl, who is presently in the state, the Bank wants to help Bihar in social and infrastructure development schemes. Power sector is one such area.

He said that the Bank would like to provide financial assistance to state government in its ambitious plans to revamp its power distribution infrastructure. 

It needs to be recalled that the state government has taken up ambitious work to connect every village with electricity in next couple of years. In his Independence Day speech last year chief minister Nitish Kumar even publicly announced that he would not seek vote in 2015 if he fails to provide electricity to all the villages and towns of the state by then.

As Bihar has one of highest transmission and distribution losses in the country––45 per cent––the state government early this year signed an MoU with the PowerGrid Corporation to change its obsolete transmission network. It has also decided to revamp its distribution network. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is already engaged with the Bihar government and has taken up larger works related to generation and transmission of power. 

As has been reported majority of the funds for this work would come from centrally sponsored schemes like Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP), Backward Region Grant Funds (BRGF) and Rajeev Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). 

 With a large agenda for Bihar, the World Bank is looking for fresh avenues to support the state government projects, including its ambitious agriculture road map and the project to provide road connectivity to the villages having a population of 250.
Bank's country director Onno Ruhl lauded the Bihar model of governance and development. He was all praise for the success of Bihar Rural Livelihood Project, also called Jeevika, which aims to empower rural masses.

Ruhl said the Bank's core engagement in the state is in education sector. It's supporting a special programme for primary teachers' training and is also engaged in secondary education with focus on female education.

He said these sectors are on the priority list of chief minister Nitish Kumar. "I have been meeting many leaders in India and abroad, including Kumar, but I am quite impressed with Kumar who talks about security, human development and infrastructure in one breath. He is a man of wisdom," said Ruhl who, during his one-year stint in the country, has visited Bihar four times.

Saying he is impressed with the success of the Bank-funded projects in Bihar, barring the Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project, Ruhl said, "Our partnership has grown over the years and we are working to broaden the engagement."

The Bank is engaged in a number of ongoing projects in the state. The rural livelihood project of $140 million is aimed at enhancing social and economic empowerment of the rural poor in Bihar. The Bank inked a $84 million credit agreement for the Bihar panchayat strengthening project with a view to supporting the state government in promoting inclusive, responsive and accountable gram panchayats in six districts: Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura. The project includes development of Gram Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan.

Ruhl also spoke about another major project, Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, which will pass through Bihar and provide additional rail transport capacity and improved service quality.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 source :TNN