The Shahjehan Room of Tandoor Restaurant at Holiday Inn turned into a memorable meeting ground for BIJHAR (Singapore) when 24 of its key members had the the privilege of meeting the suave, dynamic and a confident Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar the honourable Shri Sushil Kumar Modi and his equally amiable wife Smt. Jessie Modi on a Monday evening. The impromptu but extremely impressive exchange of ideas and information during the 2 hours meeting over dinner will be cherished by the bijharis for a long time to come.Thanks to Bihar Times which published a news about Shri Modi's visit to Australia and Singapore, BIJHAR office bearers contacted Modi and in a very short time arranged this most eventful meeting. Shri Modi was in Singapore to study the Goods and Services Tax structure for implementation of a similar regime in India. Shri Modi, in his capacity as Bihar's finance minister was a part of the delegation of 6 Indian states. On 21 May, Shri Modi also met the Singapore PM Mr. Lee Hsieng Loong. BIJHAR (Singapore) which currently has 202 members was represented by the following persons:Sanjeev Kumar Roy, Sheela Roy, Serbjeet Prasad, Nisha Prasad, Rajesh Anand, Prakash Hetamsaria, Bhawana Hetamsaria, Brajesh Karjee, Priya Karjee, Prakash Kejriwal, Veena Kejriwal, Sudeep Kumar, Manjari Kishore, Devesh Sharma, Rachna Sharma,Vikas Trivedi, Ajita Trivedi, Manoj Rai, Jayant Singh, Neeraj Chaturvedi and Amit Sinha.After an exchange of pleasantries and a brief introduction by each member present, Shri Modi described the purpose of his current tour and a summary of his visit to Australia. This was followed by BIJHAR's president Sanjeev K Roy formally welcoming Shri and Smt Modi and thanking them for sparing their valuable time for BIJHAR. A bio sketch of Shri Modi was also read.The members present also shared their grief over the untimely demise of the wife of Shri Nitish Kumar, Bihar's Chief Minister.Shri Modi spoke about some of the unique achievements of his 19 months old government in Bihar which was really very inspiring. Some of the highlights of his speech are as below:Establishment of Bihar foundation (http://biharfoundation.bih.nic.in/Default.htm), still under development stage, for creating a network of Bihari diaspora spread in different countries of the world, providing useful information on their website about investment opportunities in Bihar, publishing a newsletter etc. In Shri Modi's opinion, the strong number of NRBs could play a vital role in the development of Bihar. In this connection he mentioned about the 800 NRB doctors in UK, many of whom have come forward to work with Bihar government in improving the state of medical colleges and health services in general. Mr Modi was full of praise when he described how these doctors are facilitating knowledge transfer of the state-of-the-art practices and developments in health sciences to the budding doctors of Bihar's Medical Colleges.Mr Modi was beaming with pride when he narrated that Bihar, which in recent times has been seen as a laggard, has become the pioneer in implementing some truly novel ideas.He mentioned that Bihar has now the distinction of being the first state in India which has reserved 50% seats for women in state civic bodies. But as we all know, legislation is not enough. He precluded this remark by adding further that the rural civic bodies (ग्राम पंचायतें ) in Bihar today have more that 50% women representatives. This is a landmark development which will go a long way in changing the socio-political landscape of Bihar and empowering women in more ways than what we can think of today.In a similar vein , he mentioned the creation of Gram Nyayalayas (ग्राम न्यायालय ) where more than 8500 law graduates have been recruited as Nyay Mitras (न्याय मित). These Nyay Mitras would assist the elected sarpanches (सरपंच) in preparing the legal documents and dispensation of justice at the village level.Bihar's Law and order problem has often been cited as the biggest bane of the state.Mr Modi went to great lengths explaining the challenges his government was facing towards improving the law and order situation in Bihar.He narrated the acute shortage of personnel in the state police force and it would have taken close to 2 years to recruit , train and deploy new officers and policemen. A long gestation period of 2 years was something of a luxury which the government could ill afford. It forced the government to think out of -the- box and attempt something novel. It created another landmark of sorts by recruiting some 8000 ex-army personnel who need little training and can readily be deployed. Known as SAP (Special Auxiliary Police), the personnel have a uniform similar to BSF.
Mr Modi gave examples of how this strategy has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the law and order situation and over 6000 convictions in a year. The fear -psychosis prevalent in Patna is gradually paving way to a fearless and vibrant city life. According to him, Patna roads were no longer a deserted sight at night. The night shows in movie theaters were again recording full house. Holding a global meet on the theme of a "resurgent Bihar" recently in Patna which was attended by 80 prominent NRBs. The meet was inaugaurated by none other than the honourable Dr. Abdul Kalam, president of India.Opening of BIT Mesra near the airport on a 20 acre land. The first batch has already completed 1 year.Clearance of opening of at least a dozen engineering and medical colleges. Mr. Modi lamented that after creation of Jharkhand, only 3 engineering colleges were left in Bihar (Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Patna). He added that the exodus of students from Bihar to Delhi, Bangalore, Pune etc. is at an alarming proportion. He recalled his student days in Patna Science college in late 60s - early 70s when none went out of Patna for studies.Impressive improvement measures underatken in hospitals and primary health centres causing the patients visiting per day to shoot up from a mere 39 to 100. Disbursement of 23 types of medicines as free and recruitment of 3 doctors at each PHC are the other highlights in this area.Recruitment of 235000 teachers of which 100000 have already joined.Electricity generation which had a low of 30 MW is likely to go up to 500 MW in near future thanks to the speeding up of agreements with BHEL and NTPC. The new plants coming up at Barh, Nabinagar and Kursela are also in an advanced stage of implementation.Boost to primary education by proposed opening of 200 model schools with 6 classrooms, 2 toilets, a playground etc. Free dress for girls upto 7th standard and a free bicycle to girls of 9th standard. Proposal to teach Karate to young girl students for self-defence especially against eve-teasers.A record jump in planned expenditure at an impressive figure of 8600 crores. This according to Shri Modi had never exceeded Rupees 3000 crores in past. He added that 30% of the budget is earmarked for construction of roads.Rupees 40000 crore of investment approved by Bihar cabinet. Proposal to set up 20 sugar mills. First sugar mill to come up at Majhowlia which will be established by noted filmmaker Prakash Jha.Several initiatives underway to boost tourism.Egged by an impressive account of Bihar government's accomplishments described by Shri Modi, bijharis chipped in with their suggestions too: To encourage investment in priority areas, Prakash Kejriwal proposed that Bihar Government could adopt "rupee-for-a- rupee" approach. Meaning, thereby the government would invest a matching sum for the amount contributed by non resident Indians (NRIs & NRBs) in some identified development areas like education.Vikas Trivedi wanted government to lay great emphasis on churning out quality workmen such as welders, fitters etc. through its ITIs. He recounted from his shipping industry experience that it is common to find up to 4 Bihari officers on a single ship, but one rarely finds skilled Bihari workers on the Ships or in the shipyards.Sheela Roy suggested a revision in the curriculum of engineering which according to her experience needed signnificant changes in tune with changing environment.Serbjeet Prasad and Priya Karjee discussed about the garbage disposal which was a bane in Bihar. Serbjeet suggested use of incinerators in disposing the garbage on the lines of Holland which he observed during his recent trip there.Prakash Hetamsaria shared his vision about the potential Bihar has in tourism being the most coveted seats of Buddhism and Jainism.Devesh Sharma suggested about tapping Bihari talent from the retired personnel pool from the likes of private and public sector personnel e.g. NK singh from IAS who is the current Deputy Chairman Planning Board and harnessing their experience for development of Bihar especially in fostering entrepreneurship in Bihar. He felt that their role in advisory and mentoring could be extremely useful. He added there is also a need for change in attitude from becoming a job seeker to a job provider - an attitude which will help trigger the development of small and medium sectors which are the largest job creators per capita investment.Sudeep Kumar raised the concern of continuity of the development policies and programmes initiated by the present regime when a new political dispensation assumes power in Bihar. Shri Modi answered this question brilliantly by stating that the wind of change in Bihar being so strong and the development initiatives having been very much cast in stone, no government whether his or others could afford to derail the process. It appeared from his statement that Bihar is slowly getting into the mould of southern Indian states like Tamilnadu or Andhra where the government's performance on development front will be a major factor for the longevity of the government.Sanjeev Roy touched on the role of media and mentioned media's obsession about projecting the negative news from Bihar.Rajesh Anand requested Shri Modi to inform through agencies like Bihar Foundation the roles an oufit like BIJHAR could play in social, cultural and economic development of Bihar. He also added that government alone cannot transform a state and each conscious individual needs to paly his part. He explained that evils like dowry, corruption and casteism has caused immense damage to Bihar and there are lessons to be learnt from the progressive south Indian states on a number of such measures.Shri Modi invited BIJHAR to join Bihar foundation, a government of Bihar initiative which was duly accepted. Sanjeev Roy was elected its convenor.On the whole, this was a great evening for bijharis who felt truly inspired after conversing with a livewire deputy CM like Shri Sushil Modi.
Mr Modi gave examples of how this strategy has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the law and order situation and over 6000 convictions in a year. The fear -psychosis prevalent in Patna is gradually paving way to a fearless and vibrant city life. According to him, Patna roads were no longer a deserted sight at night. The night shows in movie theaters were again recording full house. Holding a global meet on the theme of a "resurgent Bihar" recently in Patna which was attended by 80 prominent NRBs. The meet was inaugaurated by none other than the honourable Dr. Abdul Kalam, president of India.Opening of BIT Mesra near the airport on a 20 acre land. The first batch has already completed 1 year.Clearance of opening of at least a dozen engineering and medical colleges. Mr. Modi lamented that after creation of Jharkhand, only 3 engineering colleges were left in Bihar (Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Patna). He added that the exodus of students from Bihar to Delhi, Bangalore, Pune etc. is at an alarming proportion. He recalled his student days in Patna Science college in late 60s - early 70s when none went out of Patna for studies.Impressive improvement measures underatken in hospitals and primary health centres causing the patients visiting per day to shoot up from a mere 39 to 100. Disbursement of 23 types of medicines as free and recruitment of 3 doctors at each PHC are the other highlights in this area.Recruitment of 235000 teachers of which 100000 have already joined.Electricity generation which had a low of 30 MW is likely to go up to 500 MW in near future thanks to the speeding up of agreements with BHEL and NTPC. The new plants coming up at Barh, Nabinagar and Kursela are also in an advanced stage of implementation.Boost to primary education by proposed opening of 200 model schools with 6 classrooms, 2 toilets, a playground etc. Free dress for girls upto 7th standard and a free bicycle to girls of 9th standard. Proposal to teach Karate to young girl students for self-defence especially against eve-teasers.A record jump in planned expenditure at an impressive figure of 8600 crores. This according to Shri Modi had never exceeded Rupees 3000 crores in past. He added that 30% of the budget is earmarked for construction of roads.Rupees 40000 crore of investment approved by Bihar cabinet. Proposal to set up 20 sugar mills. First sugar mill to come up at Majhowlia which will be established by noted filmmaker Prakash Jha.Several initiatives underway to boost tourism.Egged by an impressive account of Bihar government's accomplishments described by Shri Modi, bijharis chipped in with their suggestions too: To encourage investment in priority areas, Prakash Kejriwal proposed that Bihar Government could adopt "rupee-for-a- rupee" approach. Meaning, thereby the government would invest a matching sum for the amount contributed by non resident Indians (NRIs & NRBs) in some identified development areas like education.Vikas Trivedi wanted government to lay great emphasis on churning out quality workmen such as welders, fitters etc. through its ITIs. He recounted from his shipping industry experience that it is common to find up to 4 Bihari officers on a single ship, but one rarely finds skilled Bihari workers on the Ships or in the shipyards.Sheela Roy suggested a revision in the curriculum of engineering which according to her experience needed signnificant changes in tune with changing environment.Serbjeet Prasad and Priya Karjee discussed about the garbage disposal which was a bane in Bihar. Serbjeet suggested use of incinerators in disposing the garbage on the lines of Holland which he observed during his recent trip there.Prakash Hetamsaria shared his vision about the potential Bihar has in tourism being the most coveted seats of Buddhism and Jainism.Devesh Sharma suggested about tapping Bihari talent from the retired personnel pool from the likes of private and public sector personnel e.g. NK singh from IAS who is the current Deputy Chairman Planning Board and harnessing their experience for development of Bihar especially in fostering entrepreneurship in Bihar. He felt that their role in advisory and mentoring could be extremely useful. He added there is also a need for change in attitude from becoming a job seeker to a job provider - an attitude which will help trigger the development of small and medium sectors which are the largest job creators per capita investment.Sudeep Kumar raised the concern of continuity of the development policies and programmes initiated by the present regime when a new political dispensation assumes power in Bihar. Shri Modi answered this question brilliantly by stating that the wind of change in Bihar being so strong and the development initiatives having been very much cast in stone, no government whether his or others could afford to derail the process. It appeared from his statement that Bihar is slowly getting into the mould of southern Indian states like Tamilnadu or Andhra where the government's performance on development front will be a major factor for the longevity of the government.Sanjeev Roy touched on the role of media and mentioned media's obsession about projecting the negative news from Bihar.Rajesh Anand requested Shri Modi to inform through agencies like Bihar Foundation the roles an oufit like BIJHAR could play in social, cultural and economic development of Bihar. He also added that government alone cannot transform a state and each conscious individual needs to paly his part. He explained that evils like dowry, corruption and casteism has caused immense damage to Bihar and there are lessons to be learnt from the progressive south Indian states on a number of such measures.Shri Modi invited BIJHAR to join Bihar foundation, a government of Bihar initiative which was duly accepted. Sanjeev Roy was elected its convenor.On the whole, this was a great evening for bijharis who felt truly inspired after conversing with a livewire deputy CM like Shri Sushil Modi.
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