Patna: Six major companies signed the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the state industries department on the final day of Bihar Business Connect-2024 on Friday (December 20). The firms, which include Sun Petrochemicals, Shee Cement, Coca Cola and Haldiram, have together committed to invest about ₹1.81 lakh crore in Bihar.
Sun Petrochemical’s managing director Dilip Sanghavi said that the company would invest ₹36,400 crore in the state, which would in turn create employment for around 30,000 people. The NHPC Ltd has committed an investment of ₹5,500 crore, Coca Cola ₹3,000 crore, Shree Cement ₹800 crore and Haldiram ₹300 crores.
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CM Nitish Kumar could not attend this programme as he fell sick. State energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav was the chief guest at the MoU signing event.
Adani Group director Pranav Adani said, ‘I want to thank the Bihar government for gathering so many investors at one place. Bihar is moving forward under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar.’ “We are the largest private investor in Bihar. So far we have invested in logistics, gas distribution and agri logistics. In this, we have invested ₹850 crores, which will create job opportunities for 25 thousand people directly and indirectly. Now we are going to invest ₹2300 crores. This investment will also provide jobs to 25,000 people directly and indirectly,” he added.
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Adani said that the Adani group would invest ₹1000 crores more in the infrastructure, railways and smart meters sectors. “Earlier we invested ₹2100 crores in smart meters. With which 28 lakh smart meters will be installed. In which there are five districts Siwan, Gopalganj, Vaishali, Saran and Samastipur. Through this, 4000 people will get local jobs.
Last year in 2023, the country’s leading investors and industrialists participated. Like Pranav Adani from Adani Group, Shukla Mistry from IOCL, Kamal Oswal of Nahar Group of Industries, Rakesh Swami of Godrej Group, Rajesh Agarwal of Micromax Biofuels, Tushar Jain of High Spirit Commercial Ventures, A.M.D.’s Hasmukh Ranjan, Mahesh Kumar of Tiger Analytics, Prashant Kumar of Accenture and Superseva Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Many industrialists including Kumud Sharma had participated.
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During the last year’s summit, a total of 278 MOUs were signed with a commitment to invest ₹50,530 crore in the state. Out of this, 244 schemes of investment amount of ₹38,000 crores have been implemented.
Industries department secretary Bandana Preyashi said that around 10,000 people got jobs in the 2023-24 year due to the investments brought in through the last year’s business summit. “More than 11,352 people have got jobs in the current fiscal so far,” added Preyashi.
Bihar chief secretary assures all help to investors
Bihar chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena has assured investors that the state government will provide “every possible” support to them in setting up industries on Friday, during the CEO roundtable conference held at the ‘Bihar Business Connect 2024’ Summit.
The Bihar government has also promised to dole out fiscal incentives timely and the single window clearance to companies investing in the state.
Meena said, “We assure all investors that the Bihar government is fully committed to providing every possible support to facilitate their ventures. We are ready to address specific demands to ensure a smooth and productive investment experience”.
“Additionally, we have introduced provisions for double shifts for women to promote greater participation in the workforce and foster an inclusive economic environment. Most importantly, we are working to create a grievance redressal system to quickly address the issues of investors.”
Highlighting the infrastructure development in the state, development commissioner Pratyaya Amrit said, “Rapid infrastructure development in Bihar, coupled with improved electricity availability, has created a robust foundation for growth. We are committed to fostering a collaborative environment by engaging with investors regularly to address their needs and ensure the success of their ventures in the state.” Prominent companies pledged big ticket investments and outlined major plans in the state at the Bihar Business Connect 2024.
Other prominent investors
Adani Group, Sun Petrochemicals and a host of other companies – big and small – committed to investing a record ₹1.81 lakh crore in Bihar, across sectors ranging from renewable energy to cement, food processing and manufacturing Among the pacts signed were Bharat Petroleum (₹7,046 crore), Umedh City (₹1,500 crore), Avam Beverages (₹1,296 crore), Surya International (₹1,000 crore), Birla Corporation (₹759 crore), JK Cement (₹512 crore), and HPCL (₹500 crore), among others.
