Nodal officers to streamline execution of MoUs worth ₹1.80 lakh crore in Bihar

Bihar Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena. File photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Buoyed by the success of the recent global investors’ summit, ‘Bihar Business Connect-2024’, which saw the State receive investment proposals worth ₹1.80 lakh crore, the State government on Sunday (December 22, 2024) said it will now ensure “conversion of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) into investment on the ground within a year”.

In a statement, Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena said “one nodal officer for every five to 10 MoUs” will be nominated by the government to bring about ease of doing business.

These nodal officers will cover all 11 sectors for which proposals have come forth and will help the investors in “securing land and all other clearances”, he said. “Progress will be reviewed periodically by the State Investment Promotion Board,” the Chief Secretary said.

Adani Group, Sun Petrochemicals, and a host of other companies committed to invest a record Rs. 1.80 lakh crore in Bihar — across sectors ranging from renewable energy to cement, food processing, and manufacturing — during the two-day global investors’ summit, which concluded on December 20 in the State capital. In all, the State government signed investment commitments with 423 companies.

In the first edition of the investor meet in 2023, Bihar had received an investment commitment of Rs. 50,300 crore.

“The Industries Department already has a mechanism in place where we have appointed sector-specific nodal officers to ensure conversion of MoUs into investment on the ground. They are on a 24×7 job to help investors secure all clearances,” Bandana Preyashi, Secretary (Industries Department), said.

“The time for Bihar has come,” said State Industries and Tourism Minister Nitish Mishra and added that the focus will now shift towards providing all the promised support to the investors so that the units could start quickly.

‘Change in perception’

“From now on it will be the emergence of a new Bihar… I think the myth or the perception that people had about Bihar (of the State being less investor-friendly) has gone. Now, it is a complete emergence of a new Bihar under the leadership of Nitish Kumar ji. I’m positive that in years to come when these MoUs are converted into projects, they will have a big effect, big impact,” he said.