Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar defended on Thursday his repeated demand for special status to the state saying it (the status) will boost private investment in a big way to accelerate its industrial development. "I am pushing for grant of special status to Bihar only to bring private investment in a big way to expedite industrialisation process for generation of employment opportunities," he said in a function at Pataliputra industrial area after inaugurating a diamond cutting unit, the first of its kind in the state.
The special status brings with it tax concessions and the investors pumping their money in industrial units in Bihar will benefit from the incentives if the Centre grants his demand, the chief minister said. Claiming that the law and order situation in the state has improved, he said the present was as good as it gets for investors, who should take advantage of the positive atmosphere and make investments in Bihar. "If any investor has doubt about the law and order situation in Bihar, then such an investor should confirm it with the director general of police before taking the decision," Kumar said.
...
more
12:20 AM, May 17, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Terming as shocking and unfortunate Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reported statement favouring special category status to Bihar before report of a sub-committee, ruling BJD on Monday accused Congress of working against the interest of Odisha. "As far as I know (about) backwardness of Bihar, I am sure it will qualify to be a special category state by the sub-committee to be appointed under the chairmanship of Raghurama G...
02:25 AM, May 14, 2013
Patna: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said that Bihar will be accorded special category status after the change of criteria. "I hope that new criteria will determine status of backward states. Bihar will certainly qualify for special category status under new criteria for it," said Chidambaram. "The central government is reviewing the new criteria for special category status to backward states like Bihar," he told mediapersons in Patna,...
08:02 PM, May 11, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Saturday said its leaders would meet President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to press for special category status for the state. "We will meet Prime Minister, Congress resident and others to press Odisha's demand of a special category state status," OPCC President Niranjan Patnaik told reporters after the ruling BJD called for a 12-hour bandh demanding special category status...
10:58 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to award special category status to the state and provide additional central grants and fiscal incentives for its development. A motion in this regard, moved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, was supported by all political parties, including the main opposition Congress. The resolution was passed in the House after seven-hour long discussion on the subject. This was for...
11:14 PM, Apr 04, 2013
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has once again raised the pitch for a third front. Speaking at a rally in Etawah on Wednesday, Mulayam said that neither the BJP, nor the Congress can form a government in 2014. ...
05:33 PM, Mar 27, 2013
The Holi this year has brought added joy to the people of Bihar amid heightening excitement and anticipation that the state could be granted special status, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Wednesday. Celebrating Holi at his official residence, Kumar could not hide his joy with the Centre reportedly considering to grant 'backward' status to the state and said: "this Holi appears to be special." ...
05:20 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Ditched by the DMK and kept guessing by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Congress is looking further east, towards Bihar and West Bengal, to ensure that the UPA survives till the 2014 general elections. ...
10:42 PM, Mar 25, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister and the Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia to discuss granting of special status to Bihar. Nitish said the meeting with the Prime Minister has given him a hope that the issue would be taken up at a higher level. ...
06:22 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia on special status for Bihar on Monday. ...
01:22 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday. He will discuss Bihar's fight for special status with the Centre. ...
08:48 AM, Mar 18, 2013
Signalling his intentions of playing a bigger role in national politics, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday addressed a huge rally at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Sunday and declared that his fight for a special status to the state would continue till the Centre accepted it. ...
06:19 PM, Mar 17, 2013
In his first foray into national politics, Bihar Chief Minsiter Nitish Kumar came up with a powerful political statement at the Adhikar rally in Ramlila Maidan in the capital. He admitted that while Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget 2013 had showed concern for Bihar, the state had largely been treated unfairly by the Centre. ...
02:02 PM, Mar 17, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will make his first foray into national politics in the run up to the next General Elections in a massive show of strength in the capital on Sunday. Kumar will address a rally in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan seeking special status for Bihar. ...
11:02 AM, Mar 17, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will make his first foray into national politics in the run up to the next General Elections in a massive show of strength in the capital on Sunday. Kumar will address a rally in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan seeking special status for Bihar. ...
07:26 AM, Mar 17, 2013
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hailed Finance Minister P Chidambaram for promising to revisit criteria for special category status and said that it was a 'victory in-principle' for Bihar in view of its consistent demand for grant of such a status. ...
05:26 PM, Feb 28, 2013
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday said it was not possible to grant Bihar the status of a special category state but its special package can be improved. ...
02:20 AM, Feb 05, 2013
The ruling Janata Dal (United) on Monday decided to organise a massive rally in Delhi on March 17 to press for its demand for grant of special category status to Bihar by the Centre to spur growth. The rally would be attended by a large number of people from Bihar and those from the state living in Delhi, Bihar JD(U) President Vashist Narayan Singh told reporters after a meeting of...
02:28 PM, Jan 14, 2013
Observing that 19 out of 24 districts in Jharkhand are affected by Naxalism, Chief Minister Arjun Munda today made a strong pitch for granting a special status to the tribal state along with a central package to effectively deal with its various problems. Addressing the 57th National Development Council (NDC) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Munda said, "The state should be provided with a special central package, without...
03:48 PM, Dec 27, 2012
Bihar does not meet the existing criteria to be granted the status of special category state, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday. "Bihar does not meet the existing criteria according to which a state is deemed eligible for special category state. We do recognise that Bihar and some parts do have a special problem and as part of BGRF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) we have Bihar...
07:16 PM, Dec 26, 2012
