Amit Shah rules out ‘big industry’ in Bihar, offers to make it AI-IT Hub
NDA may pay a price for Union home minister’s statement ruling out ‘big industry’ in Bihar in run-up to crucial Bihar Assembly election

It was a googly that Union home minister Amit Shah possibly did not expect. Attending an event sponsored by ABP TV, he was asked if Bihar would be industrialised in the next 10 years. The home minister appeared to ponder over the question. He may not have given much thought to it, judging by his response. However, he recovered quickly enough to reply that big industries were not possible in the state because of the paucity of land. He went on to declare that the Union government and BJP wanted to develop Bihar as the AI and IT hub of the country in the next 10 years.
His reply has gone viral since then, with several shocked Biharis pointing out that it was actually a joke. Others were quick to point out that the BJP has been making this same promise for the past 10 years. The BJP’s poll manifesto in 2020 had fixed the deadline of 2025 to make Bihar an IT hub and generate five lakh IT jobs in the state. Not a single IT park has come up in Bihar since then, and several thousand engineering graduates from the state are employed in places like Gurugram, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Others have reacted by pointing out that no effort has been made by the double-engine governments of BJP to re-open the 37 sugar mills in the state, closed for a long time. The paper mill in Darbhanga, the coach factory in Jamalpur and the railway yard in Hajipur have languished in the absence of state patronage.
Former Union minister and senior BJP leader from the state Ravi Shankar Prasad had declared way back in 2017 that an IT park would come up in the state soon. Nothing has come of it.
Nor have food processing industries have come up. The popular sattu or pounded gram, which sustains people in the state in various forms including as stuffing in the ubiquitous litti, are being processed and packaged in Tamil Nadu. Makhana or fox nuts are roasted, flavoured and packaged in Pune and Aurangabad besides other industrial centres. Bihar, which is among the highest growers of both maize and banana in the country, has similarly missed the bus even as banana chips from Kerala have flooded the country.
The home minister’s somewhat insensitive statement ruling out industries in the state has come at a time when Biharis are increasingly asking why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking votes in Bihar while inaugurating industries in Gujarat every month.
The prime minister has been announcing new trains from Bihar to Gujarat while announcing major industrial and hi-tech projects in Gujarat, they are saying more frequently. "What have they done for Bihar in the last 10 years" is a question BJP spokespersons and candidates are being asked with greater frequency as campaigning for the electoral battle for Bihar enters the last lap.
To be fair, the state has had some modest success in promoting home industries to make pickles and incense sticks besides promoting the production of button mushrooms in a big way. On the streets of Patna, mushrooms are today sold by vendors much like they sell peanuts in winter. There is little sign, however, of any major marketing effort to promote the brand across the country.
The home minister’s statement may turn out to be an unfortunate slip of the tongue as the youth in Bihar are seeking major employment opportunities in the state. As many of them have pointed out, they would prefer earning Rs 20,000 a month at home rather than earn Rs 30,000 in a metro city with higher costs of living.
They are already frustrated over the Agniveer scheme, which closes one avenue for long-term employment. The Union government’s policy of discouraging public sector units in the state is another sore point. Land acquired for a thermal plant by the PSU National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Bhagalpur being handed over to the Adani Group has also not gone down well with them as the private sector is not known to offer secure and long-term employment with social security.
The government’s policy to privatise the education and health sectors have also affected employment prospects in the state. With the government school system and public universities neglected as private units and coaching institutes mushroom, quality education and healthcare have also gone beyond the reach of most people.
Amit Shah’s statement ruling out industries in the state is unlikely to enthuse the youth of Bihar. The result of the election will show if the home minister gets away with the insensitive statement before a sensitive election.
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