Make in Bihar, invest in Bihar: Shahnawaz Hussain tells investors

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, the new Industries Minister of Bihar, on Wednesday expressed resolve to usher in growth in the sector that has remained largely untapped in the state, where conditions have now become favourable with improvements in infrastructure.

The senior BJP leader and former Union minister, who was sworn in as a member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet on Tuesday, was talking to reporters after assuming charge.

Hussain pointed out that the coronavirus-induced lockdown and the massive migrant crisis that came in its wake, have brought the issue of lack of industries and job opportunities in Bihar into sharp focus.

He urged entrepreneurs from the state, who have been "running businesses across the country and world over" to rise to the occasion and "make in Bihar, invest in Bihar".

"Investors and entrepreneurs can rest assured they will get full cooperation from the Bihar government. The state is fortunate to have a chief minister like Nitish Kumar from whose rich experience it has benefitted a lot. I am here to chip in with whatever experience I have," said Hussain, who had served as a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

"Nitish Kumar's leadership has succeeded in making the power situation and the roads in Bihar better than most states. Now is the time to take things to the next level," he remarked.

One of the most articulate spokespersons of the BJP at the national level, Hussain, who has formerly been a member of the Lok Sabha thrice, was elected to the state legislative council last month in a surprise move by the party for which Bihar remains the only state in the Hindi heartland, where it is yet to head a government.

He was fielded, and elected unopposed, from the seat vacated by former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who has become a member of the Rajya Sabha.