Now that Bihar's hurly-burly is done...

A new government will take office soon in Bihar, tasked with steering a state that remains one of India's poorest - and youngest. Going beyond the flash of elections, these twin challenges make it imperative to overhaul the state's economy and break free from its persistent low-growth trap. In recent decades, Bihar has made significant strides: nearly 100% electrification, improved roads and connectivity, and law and order largely under control. Yet, structural constraints persist. Bihar's bifurcation in 2000 stripped it of much of its industrial base that went to Jharkhand. Even today, it has only 3,386 factories, compared with 40,121 in Tamil Nadu and 33,311 in Gujarat.

Infrastructure gains have not translated into broad-based employment. Bihar's work participation rate is 53.2%, far below the national 62.1%. With few jobs in the private sector, government positions remain the most coveted. And it's here that one can identify the source of the rot: the education system, which overwhelmingly channels students away from real-world skills. Migration has become the default employment strategy: over half of households have at least one migrant. Entire district economies - like Gopalganj and Siwan - run entirely on remittances, with dependence exceeding 80%. Returning migrants bring skills, capital, modest wage gains and women's empowerment, but heavy reliance on migration underscores local stasis.

Bihar has to overhaul education and skilling to match modern labour markets. District-level manufacturing and value-add sectors should be nurtured, focusing on high-value agro-processing - makhana, mushrooms, water chestnut - along with textiles, leather and construction materials. Its diaspora must be mobilised with returnee entrepreneurship schemes. Bihar has changed. But clearly not enough. The real work ahead is structural: building an economy where young people can thrive without setting off elsewhere, or collecting a degree as 'dole'. And this work is not just cut out for the next government, but for many more Bihar governments to come.