ET World Leaders Forum 2026: Bihar eyes 4x growth, 10 million jobs

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary emphasised that Bihar was scripting a development success story with an aggressive push to attract new investment in the state. Choudhary outlined the future trajectory of development, investment, industry, water management, employment, and infrastructure in the state while speaking to ET at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum.

He coined a slogan ''Build Bihar, Believe in Bihar' to take the state through an industrial transformation in four years.

"Bihar stands on the verge of transformation. We are guided by the principle of 'Build Bihar, Believe in Bihar', and restore the state back to the ancient glory where it used to be a centre of trade, education and good governance," Choudhary said.


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"While Bihar lagged in development previously, essential infrastructure in fundamental areas-roads, electricity, and water-is now largely complete. The government's primary focus has shifted to industry, investment, and employment generation, backed by new policies designed to provide an enabling environment for domestic and global investors," he said.

Talking about good governance, Choudhary emphasised the 'Sahyog Grievance Redressal Program,' an initiative undertaken after he became the CM in April this year. Sahyog is a platform where a public complaint is monitored right from the time and it comes with a one-month deadline for resolution of the issue.

"Out of 6,42,000 applications received so far, 96% have been resolved. A strict 30-day resolution deadline has been instituted, with provisions for disciplinary action and automatic suspension for officials demonstrating negligence or failing to meet deadlines," he added.

The CM said the state has adopted a flexible approach in their industrial policy to accommodate investors prioritising the ease of doing business.

"Tailormade policies have been introduced for Semiconductors and Global Capability Centres (GCC) in the current year. The government continues to facilitate land allocation, power access, and required amenities for industries. With a dense population, rapid technology adoption, and a substantial pool of trained human resources, Bihar offers investors both a vast consumer market and skilled labour," he said.

Choudhary added that the power availability in the state has expanded from roughly 350 MW previously to over 10,000 MW, with the state providing approximately ₹23,000 crore in power subsidies to consumers.

Currently, Bihar has four operational airports while 10 airport projects are underway. In road infrastructure there are six expressways in operation while several others are in the planning and construction phase.

Choudhary specially highlighted that travel time between Patna Airport and Gaya has been reduced from four hours to approximately 1.5 hours.

Water management remains central to the state's growth strategy. Samrat Choudhary laid out the work being done for effective utilisation of water available to the state through river water management.

The CM said the total irrigated area has increased from 2.1 million hectares to 4.4 million hectares in recent years. The state is working on sustainable solutions through the management of the Kosi, Gandak, and Ganga rivers.

During his Delhi visit he met union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on August 21 requesting an action plan for irrigation initiatives including the Kosi-Mechi River link and water management for transboundary rivers from Nepal.

On the Farakka Barrage issue he said, "Bihar requires year-round access to Ganga water for drinking and irrigation needs. Presently the state releases more water to Bangladesh than it gets annually. Work is also advancing on the Sone-Falgu River linking concept to mitigate water stress in South Bihar."

The Bihar government is planning to develop integrated four-lane roads and industrial corridors along both banks of the Ganga, Gandak, and Kosi rivers.

These corridors will host industrial parks, educational and institutional hubs, and modern townships. The state is also evaluating inland water transport connectivity from Haldia to Birpur to enhance trade in the Indo-Nepal region.

Talking about the state's focus on urbanisation, Choudhary said a policy to build 12 modern townships covering an area of 3,50,000 acres have already been implemented.

The chief minister has set an ambitious target when it comes to job generation, and he vows to fulfil it in the next four years.

"In the last term of the government we generated 5.3 million job opportunities in government as well as private sector. We have doubled the target and will create 10 million jobs and livelihood opportunities in the coming four years," Choudhary said.

Choudhary highlighted women empowerment initiatives in the state and said that over 4.3 million women have become Lakhpati Didis under the central government initiative.

"Bihar employs over 40,000 women police personnel-the highest in India. Women hold 59% of elected leadership positions in local governance under the state's 50% reservation policy for Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies," he said.

Choudhary talked about the education reforms and added that 211 new degree colleges have been established over 534 blocks of the state.

To ensure examination integrity, the state has requested the Patna High Court to establish a high-level committee led by a sitting or retired judge to propose systemic reforms and prevent paper leaks.

He also talked about several religious corridors being developed such as Baba Hariharnath Corridor, Bodhgaya Corridor, and Vishnupad Temple Corridor, alongside the restoration and preservation of Nalanda University.

Concluding his address, Samrat Choudhary reiterated the goal to increase Bihar's economy by four times over the next four years.

"We will build upon the foundation laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. I invite the global as well as domestic industry leaders to visit Bihar and invest in Bihar. Bihar's growth story will contribute a lot to the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal."