Bihar sees 15-fold jump in data consumption, state goes big on infrastructure

Patna: Bihar has seen a 15-fold jump in data consumption in the last five years as the state goes big on developing infrastructure, investing in connectivity and building rail and road networks, its Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena said.

Bihar has witnessed unprecedented growth in infrastructure development with its road density being the third largest in India that facilitates trade and transport. Its electricity generation has expanded from 700 MW to 7,000 MW while the state has built IT parks and data centres are in the offing.

Infrastructure is the focus, Meena, the top-most bureaucrat in the Bihar government, said adding massive investments have gone into building infrastructure in the last two decades.

"If I talk of the road sector, we have a network of 1.2 lakh kilometres of rural roads. It has been built completely during the last 20 years.  We have a very strong network of national highways, state highways and major district roads. And I am happy to share with you that during the last 10 years, the highway network, both the national highway and the state highway has seen tremendous growth," he said.

The state government in last year's budget announced four express highways - Siligri to Gorakhpur, Raksol to Haldia, Patna-Purnia, then spur roads from Amas-Darbhanga expressway to Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Darbhanga.

Besides, there are ongoing projects of Varanasi-Kolkata, 153 kilometres of which passes through four districts of Bihar.

"So we have a highway plan. There is a network of, you know, east-west highway, north-south highway. So there is a grid," he said. "So with all these projects upcoming and ongoing, I think from any point in the state, one would be able to get a four-lane highway by travelling about 50 kilometres".

He cited the example of Ganga river having just four bridges prior to 2005. "In Bihar, Gangaji is 400 kilometres. In 400 kilometres, only four bridges with only 10 lane width. The Chief Minister took up massive planning and now we are having either constructed or under construction bridges at 14 locations and the lane width would be 70. 10 versus 70".

The bridges on Ganga also help bridge the north-south divide, fueling development of the state.

Similarly, on other major rivers, Kosi, Gandak, Son, bridges are being built 25 kilometres.

"So, this network of bridges has brought in tremendous mobility. Therefore, our agricultural produce is able to reach the markets bringing prosperity to the farmers. The educational opportunities have gone better. Health facilities have gone better," he said.

Meena said the industry is finding it very useful to use this infrastructure and set up industries in different parts of the state.

"If I talk of the railway, the dedicated freight corridor is operational as you know from Sonnagar to Dadri on the west side. From Sonnagar to Andal, primarily it passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, work is going on. So, this will bring in tremendous freight advantage to Bihar state and many of the railway lines which were single lane have been converted or are being converted into double lanes. There are also plans to take up a third line in the congested and busy networks," he said.

On the gas front, Bihar has 1,700 plus kilometres of the gas pipeline in the state. All 38 districts are now being covered under the city gas distribution. All industries can now plan to set up industry based on the gas.

"In telecom also in last 2015, if I talk 2015 to 2024, 2019 there were about 6 crore mobile users. Now we have about 7.25 crores. We had the data usage 1.67 GB per month was the average usage in 2019. Now it is 27 GB gigabyte. So, massive. I mean, similarly, the mobile tower, we have about 45,000 in Bihar, 45,000 plus mobile towers," he said.

All panchayats are now connected with optical fiber cable. All villages are connected, including the remote villages.

In 2005, power consumption was only 700-800 megawatt, this year the state saw a peak of 8,000 MW.

"And now we are coming up with the Bihar Renewable Energy Policy, draft is already under consultation. And then pump hydro project policy," he said. "So, all those new initiatives are in the pipeline and we are able to supply power at a very reasonable rate to the industry." On financing, he said in 2015, annual credit flow to  MSMEs from commercial banks was about 8,000 crore per year. In 2023-24, MSME credit flow from the commercial banks was 77,000 crore.

"This shows the growth story as to how more and more MSMEs have come, how banks are finding it feasible to finance and how things are changing. So, 10 times growth into credit flow is an indicator of the, you know, positive enabling supporting environment," he added.

Meena said the state government is working to ensure the youth of the state acquires proper skill and education so as to avail better work opportunities.

More medical colleges, engineering institutes, and polytechnics are being set up so that they produce a skilled and capable workforce.