PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to address a large group of students of Harvard University in the United States in April. He got an invitation from the Public Policy Department of the Students’ Union of the University, requesting him to connect with students through virtual mode.
Janata Dal (United) working president and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kumar Jha said on Tuesday that Nitish has been requested to address the students on how he transformed Bihar, earlier known as a ‘Bimaroo’ (underdeveloped) state, into a developing one and also an emerging hub of industrial units.
The chief minister has also been requested to present his vision on the development of Bihar for the next 10 years. The growth of infrastructure, good governance and the state’s sustained economic growth rate has been a subject of study for the students of the university, who are eager to know from the man himself known as ‘Vikas Purush’.
The date and timing of the event will be finalised at the convenience of the chief minister, who is currently busy due to the budget session of the state legislature.
Jha, a close confidante of Nitish, said that it was a matter of pride not only for the chief minister but also for the residents of the state to get an invitation from the students of a university in abroad, who are keen to know about the achievements of the state government. For the students, it may be a case study for their research, he added.
He said that they will study the role of chief minister Nitish Kumar in the development of Bihar, earlier known for its lawlessness both terms of law and order and governance.
“There was a complete breakdown of governance in Bihar before Nitish took over the reigns in November 2005,” he remarked.
The Global Business Summit held from December 19 to 20, 2024, attracted investors both from within the country and abroad. Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) worth Rs.1.8 lakh crore was signed between the state government and the companies which were interested in making investments in Bihar. Moreover, Bihar industries minister Nitish Mishra, who played a key role in making the investors’ summit a grand success, was honoured with the India-UK Achievers Honours 2025 at a function held in February in London.
Mishra had earlier held a series of meeting with businessmen in different states to invite them for making investments in Bihar. In 2006, former railway minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad had addressed a gathering of students from Harvard and Warton Business Schools in US on how he achieved a turnaround in the Indian Railways during his tenure. He had explained them the finer points of how ailing Railways was pulled out of the red in a short period of time without increasing the fares or downsizing the staff.