NITISH KUMAR KNOWS BIHAR’S GAPS, NOW HE MUST CLOSE THEM

IGHTEEN years at the helm should give any leader clarity about what his state truly needs. Nitish Kumar returns as Bihar's chief minister for the tenth time with that advantage he knows better than anyone why Bihar has struggled to rise even as the rest of India races ahead. Yet knowledge alone is no longer enough. Bihar's fundamental challenge is not growth itself-its GSDP regularly posts healthy numbers but the quality and depth of that growth. A per capita income that is roughly one-third of the national average captures the structural imbalance. A state with abundant labour and a young demographic continues to operate like a low-income, lowproductivity economy. Three-quarters of households remain tied to agriculture that generates barely a quarter of output. Services dominate but are concentrated in low-value, low-wage activity. Manufacturing is chronically underdeveloped. This imbalance is at the heart of Bihar's 'laggard' image.

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The easy political instinct is to reach for cash transfers and quick welfarist wins. However, a state where 74 percent of revenues come from the Centre, and where 42 percent of receipts are swallowed by salaries, pensions and interest, simply cannot fund grand doles without starving investment. Bihar's problem is not just the availability of money-it is the sliver of discretionary funds left each year for development, often squeezed further by populism. Promising ₹10,000 to women repeatedly may mob