‘Invest in Bihar’ event held in New Jersey

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The Industries Department of Bihar hosted an “Invest in Bihar” summit in New Jersey on July 18, 2023, jointly with Bihar Foundation USA, a diaspora cell of Govt of Bihar, and the Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America.

A delegation from Bihar led by led by Minister Samir Kumar Mahaseth and Additional Chief Secretary Sandeep Poundrik are in New Jersey in a bid to attract investors to Bihar.

The summit was attended by 130 entrepreneurs from the food processing, manufacturing, IT, and consulting services industries, who are interested in investing in Bihar, a press release from organizers said.

Bihar Foundation USA Chairman Alok Kumar and BJANA President Anurag Kumar welcomed attendees and praised the visiting delegation for their initiatives, and expressed support in bringing investment to their home state Bihar. Nidhi Jha welcomed Minister Mahaseth with a Maithili folk song. The entire cultural presentation was curated by Santosh Jha.

Minister Mahaseth urged entrepreneurs from the United State, who have been “running businesses across India and the world over to rise to the occasion and invest in Bihar.”

Chief Secretary Poundrik made a detailed presentation aimed at   potential investors. Whether it is textile, manufacturing or IT, a large chunk of manpower is from Bihar, who are willing to return to the state, he noted. “Bihar government is acting proactively and taking all possible steps to make a conducive climate here. The government is developing plug-and-play stations where investors will be able to come and start work directly. They will not be required to go through situations like land acquisition and power shortages. This will speed up investment,” Poundrik said.

Ajay Kumar Singh, founder & CEO of Slayback Pharma said he wanted to bring more business and opportunities in Bihar specially in Lukhisarai. Dr. Pankaj Mohan, Chairman and CEO of Sonnet Bio Therapeutics, Inc., wanted more focus on Buxar.

Prashant Kumar, CEO – Mareana Inc., Princeton NJ asked about getting trained skillsets from Various IIT s and engineering colleges and government plan for retaining them after hire as well as provisioning some innovative recreational facilities so that hired resources stay back in the state. They could look at joint programs with the state’s department of industries pitching in for continuous skills training.

Amit Anand, partner at Deloitte Consulting looking for opportunities in putting up large centers in Bihar …they would like to explore outside of Patna too but within Bihar …was talking about possibility of large-scale offices with thousands of head counts.

During the Q and A session, Poundrik pointed out that Bihar has suffered a lot due to the wrong perception created over the years that it does not have much to offer and is not a safe investment destination. He assured that the state will provide the same ease of doing business that is associated with the developed states.