Trade delegation sees opportunities in China

PATNA: The industry and trade circles of the state see in the proposed visit of the Bihar delegation led by CM Nitish Kumar to China a huge opportunity to not only open up trade and industry activities to mutual advantage, but also an opportunity to read the nature of technology in use in China and also assess if it could be transferred for adaptation to Bihar conditions to produce low-cost products of mass use.The CM would lead an eight-member delegation for seven-day China visit, beginning June 12. The delegation includes two industry and trade representatives -- Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president S P Sinha and Bihar Chamber of Commerce (BCC) president O P Sah.Noting that thepotential sectors of Bihar were agriculture, horticulture, food processing andtourism, both Sinha and Sah on Wednesday said, "Knowledge of technology andother inputs from a country like China in these sectors would be of great valuein promoting such industries in Bihar. The delegation would endeavour toestablish a person-to-person contact between entrepreneurs and traders of Chinaand Bihar to boost trade and commerce. The delegation would also explore thepossibilities to promote export of premium agri\horti produce, spices andmedicinal and aromatic herbs of Bihar to China."The Bihar delegationwould visit Shanaghai, Shandong and Beijing during its stay in China. Sah saidthat they would land in China on the morning of June 13, and would be back inIndia on June 19, as per the revised programme. The fact that China hasovertaken several Asian and European economies has been on the mind of Bihar'sindustry and trade circles.According to Sinha and Sah, thedelegation would, of course, study agriculture and irrigation practices, powergeneration and promotion of tourism. They added, "It would also study the highlyacclaimed manufacturing sector of China, which has enabled the country to recordthe fastest economic growths in the world. Innovative technologies adopted byChinese industry have enabled them to produce cost-effective, durable and longlasting products."Describing the present Bihar situation from thepoint of view of investors, Sah said that the 2011 Industrial Incentive Policyof the state has been "best so far" -- and, in fact, an improvement on the 2006policy under the present regime itself -- but the real allurement for the biginvestors would be the grant of special category status to thestate.According to Sinha, framing of the new land acquisition policyby the Centre, which is pending for long, would be the real breakthrough."However, in the eyes of the industry, the government can only be afacilitator," he said, adding that the standing policy is that 60 per cent ofthe land required for a project would be acquired by the investor and thegovernment could help in the acquisition of remaining 40 per cent of land, apartfrom doing its bits in price fixation, conversion of agriculture land toindustrial land because Bihar has mainly fertile land, andregistration.Since Bihar was notable for small land holdings, theBIA has suggested to the state to expand industrial estate and also create anexpanding land bank, Sinha added.