Bihar
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The source of this article
INDIA 2012
A REFERENCE ANNUAL
Compiled by
RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
BIHAR
Area : 94,163 sq km
Population : 8,28,78,796 (census 2001)
Capital : Patna
Principal Language : Hindi
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas, epics, etc., and was the main scene of activities of Buddha and the 24 Jain Tirthankars. Great rulers of the State before the Christian era were Bimbisar, Udayin, who founded the city of Pataliputra, Chandragupta Maurya and Emperor Ashoka of Maurya dynasty, the Sungs and the Kanvas. Then came the Kushan rulers followed by Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta dynasty. Muslim rulers made inroads into the territory during the medieval period. The first conqueror of Bihar was Mohammed- bin-Bakhtiar Khalji. The Tughluqs and then the Mughals followed the Khaljis.
One of the major states of the Indian Union, Bihar is bounded on the north by Nepal, on the east by West Bengal, on the west by Uttar Pradesh and on the south by Jharkhand. Bihar has a number of rivers, the most important of which is the Ganga. The other rivers are the Sone, Poonpoon, Falgu, Karmanasa, Durgawati, Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara, etc.
AGRICULTURE
Bihar has a total geographical area of about 93.60 lakh hectare, out of which only 55.54 lakh hectare is the net cultivated area with a gross cultivated area of 76.71 lakh hectare during 2008-09. The principal food crops are paddy, wheat, maize and pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, potato, tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies, jute and mesta. Bihar has a notified forest area of 6.22 lakh hectare , which is 6.65 per cent of its geographical area.
IRRIGATION
Bihar has an irrigation potential of 28.73 lakh hectare. It is created through major and medium irrigation schemes and 6.63 lakh hectare is through minor irrigation schemes.
GOVERNMENT
Governor : Shri D. Konwar
Chief Secretary : Shri Anup Mukherji
Chief Minister : Shri Nitish Kumar
Jurisdiction of High Court: Bihar
AREA, POPULATION AND HEADQUARTERS OF DISTRICTS
S.No. District Area (in sq km) Population Headquarters
(Census 2001)
1. Araria 2,830.00 21,58,608 Araria
2. Arwal 637.00 5,89,476 Arwal
3. Aurangabad 3,389.2 20,04,960 Aurangabad
4. Begusarai 1,918.00 23,49,366 Begusarai
5. Bhagalpur 2,569.00 24,23,172 Bhagalpur
6. Banka 3,020.00 16,08,773 Banka
7. Bhojpur 2,395.00 22,43,144 Arrah
8. Buxar 1,703.00 14,02,396 Buxar
9. Kaimur (Bhabhua) 3,362.00 12,89,074 Bhabhua
10. Darbhanga 2,279.00 32,95,789 Darbhanga
11. East Champaran 3,968.00 39,39,773 Motihari
12. Gaya 4,976.00 34,73,428 Gaya
13. Gopalganj 2,033.00 21,52,638 Gopalganj
14. Jahanabad 932.00 9,24,839 Jahanabad
15. Jamui 3,098.00 13,98,796 Jamui
16. Katihar 3,057.00 23,92,638 Katihar
17. Khagaria 1,486.00 1,28,00,354 Khagaria
18. Kishanganj 1,884.00 12,96,348 Kishanganj
19. Lakhisarai 1,228.00 8,02,225 Lakhisarai
20. Madhepura 1,788.00 15,26,646 Madhepura
21. Madhubani 3,501.00 35,75,281 Madhubani
22. Munger 1,419.00 11,37,297 Munger
23. Muzaffarpur 3,172.00 37,46,714 Muzaffarpur
24. Nalanda 2,355.00 23,70,528 Biharsharif
25. Nawada 2,494.00 18,09,696 Nawada
26. Patna 3,202.00 47,18,592 Patna
27. Purnea 3,229.00 25,43,942 Purnea
28. Rohtas 3,851.00 24,50,748 Sasaram
29. Saharsa 1,687.00 15,08,182 Saharsa
30. Samastipur 2,904.00 33,94,793 Samastipur
31. Saran 2,641.00 32,48,701 Chapra
32. Shekhpura 689.00 5,25,502 Sitamarhi
33. Sheohar 349.00 5,15,961 Sheohar
34. Sitamarhi 2,294.00 26,82,720 Sitamarhi
35. Siwan 2,219.00 27,14,349 Siwan
36. Supaul 2,425.00 17,32,578 Supaul
37. Vaishali 2,036.00 27,18,421 Hazipur
38. West Champaran 5,228.00 30,43,466 Bettiah
Bihar: Caste, politics and development
The Times of India, Sep 11 2015
Subodh Varma
A story in numbers: How politics has failed Bihar Caste politics takes toll on state's health
Poll-bound Bihar is historically one of the poorest regions of the country with all the features of a grossly under-developed economy -low level of industrialization, dependence on agriculture, endemic poverty , low educational levels, high rates of outward migration, high population growth rates and extreme poverty . Unsurprisingly , electoral battles involve a high degree of caste and religious politics as formations of all political shades resort to diversionary methods to win over weary people. Although nominally everybody swears by `development', the reality is that nobody has been able to come up with a solution to the economic stasis.
On the face of it, Bihar's economy seems to have grown at a faster average rate than the country as a whole. Even job growth was slightly higher than at the national level. But the state's per capita income is a fifth of the national average.Monthly per capita spending was a mere Rs 970 in rural areas and Rs 1,287 in urban areas, almost 44% and 92% less than the national average, respectively. One of the key problems of Bihar is its low level of industrialization. Just 17% of the gross value of output from the state was created by industry compared to nearly 29% at the national level.
Dependence on agriculture which is increasingly unremunerative and widespread landlessness, pegged at nearly 70% in villages by SECC, have created a stranglehold of poverty and underemployment.This is also reflected in the low rate of urbanization at just 11%, compared to 31% for the country . This stagnation is reflected in some of the state's key health and living standard indicators. Both child and mother death rates are much higher than the national average. Nearly 88% children below five are anemic and 40% are underweight.
Nearly 90% of people still use wood or cow dung or kerosene to cook and over half the population resides in houses with thatched or other kachcha material roofs. Electricity for lighting is used by just 16% of the population. Education is still not accessible to all with the state having a literacy rate of 62% compared to 73% for the country . Women's literacy is just 52%, the lowest among all states. The desire for education appears to be huge as the current student population is not too far behind the national average. As the electioneering kicks off, the people of Bihar and the whole country are waiting to see whether this will be another round of identity politics and wild promises, with no real change.
Backward districts
The Times of India, Aug 20 2015
In poll-bound Bihar, Patna & 20 dists get backward status
The Centre notified 21 Bihar districts, including capital Patna as backward areas and unveiled tax rebate for them in the poll-bound state, a day after the Narendra Modi government announced a mega Rs 1.25 lakh crore development package. The 21 districts include Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nawada, Vaishali, Sheohar, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnea, Katihar, Araria, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Supaul and Muzaffarpur.
The move goes a significant distance towards meeting Bihar's demand for `special status', and can help BJP blunt one of the major campaign themes of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. BJP celebrated the development as proof of Modi government's commitment to the well-being of the backward state. “Nitish Kumar should have the honesty to recognize and applaud the fact that BJP has already done for the state what he had used as a slogan and failed to realize despite his opportunistic tie-up with Congress,“ Bihar BJP functionary Sushil Modi said.
Government sources said that similar benefit was provided to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to help them develop.
The move is aimed at pro viding an opportunity to districts concerned to grow faster. Any manufacturing unit set up between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2020, in these districts will be eligible for 15% additional depreciation and 15% investment allowance under the Income Tax Act, on the cost of plant and machinery acquired and installed during this period.
“Thus, a manufacturing undertakingenterprise set up in any of these areas during the aforesaid period will be eligible for 35% (instead of 20%) of additional depreciation. This would be over and above the normal depreciation of 15%. Besides, a company engaged in manufacturing will also be eligible for 30% (instead of 15%) of investment allowance if its investment in new plant and machinery during the period 1.4.2015 to 31.3.2017 exceeds Rs 25 crore,“ a government statement said.
Modi's announcement for Bihar, underlining the political significance of the state polls seen to be a major test for the PM and the opposition RJD-JD (U)-Congress combine. This was above the Rs 40,000 crore given for ongoing projects.The package marks a major push by the prime minister to signal his commitment to Bihar's development and gives BJP a decisive edge over the challenge posed by the Janata Parivar.
