Patna: CM Samrat Choudhary on Saturday announced that his govt has set a target of attracting investments worth Rs 5 lakh crore to Bihar by Nov this year, making industrial growth the centrepiece of his first Independence Day address after hoisting the Tricolour at Gandhi Maidan.Samrat said the state had undertaken historic policy reforms in recent years to accelerate industrialisation. The Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Package-2025 has been revised and expanded, while the Bihar Semiconductor Policy, 2026 has been launched to make Bihar a major hub for semiconductor-linked industries by 2030, he said.Listing infrastructure available to investors, Samrat said Bihar now has more than 100 industrial areas, nearly 10,000 acres of industrial land, plug-and-play sheds, a dry port, multimodal logistics facilities and connectivity with the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. He said approval had been granted for acquiring 14,600 acres of new industrial land to develop industrial areas in every district.Samrat also announced the launch of the Vidyarthi Sahyog Portal from Aug 17 for prompt redressal of students’ grievances. The platform, modelled on the state’s Sahyog Portal, will receive applications and ensure complaints related to children are resolved within 30 days, he said.Samrat said a state-level examination reform committee would be set up to make examinations in Bihar smooth, transparent, fair and modern. A separate high-level committee will be formed to further improve the quality of education. He added that free coaching for entrance tests, including JEE and NEET, would be provided at 551 Saraswati Vidya Niketans, established recently across the state.Focusing on agriculture-based industry, Samrat said the govt was committed to establishing 25 new sugar mills to improve the lives of sugarcane farmers. He said 10 sugar mills had already been started and five more would begin operations in the next six months.He also announced that the Tirupati Balaji Trust would construct a Tirupati Balaji temple on 10 acres at Mokama in Patna district.On employment, Samrat said the govt had set a target of providing govt jobs and employment opportunities to 1 crore youths by 2030.Samrat said work was progressing rapidly on five expressways and six high-speed corridors, including greenfield projects, with a combined length of about 589 kilometres.He said Bihar was also entering a new phase in air connectivity, with four airports currently operational and construction work on more than six others moving ahead quickly. The govt is working to develop airstrips in all districts and plans are under way for greenfield airports at Sonepur and Ajgaibinath Dham, he added.
