Patna: The two-day Bihar Business Connect-2024 concluded on Friday, achieving a historic milestone with MoUs worth Rs 1.80 lakh crore signed and exchanged — a threefold increase from the previous year. Nearly half of the total investment commitments came from the renewable energy sector, where 17 players pledged Rs 90,734 crore, accounting for over 50% of the summit’s total MoUs.
The general manufacturing sector secured the second-highest investment with 57 units signing MoUs worth Rs 55,898 crore. The food manufacturing sector followed closely with 70 units committing Rs 13,663 crore.
Other major contributions included Rs 5,566 crore for urban infrastructure, Rs 3,360 crore for healthcare and Rs 2,988 crore for tourism and hospitality. Additional investments were pledged in real estate, logistics, IT, textiles and leather and plastic and rubber. In total, 423 MoUs were signed, culminating in Rs 1,80,899 crore in commitments.
Prominent industry players led the investment drive. Sun Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd signed an MoU worth Rs 36,700 crore while the Adani Group committed Rs 27,900 crore. NHPC pledged Rs 5,500 crore for solar projects, SLMG Beverages (a Coca-Cola bottling partner) announced a Rs 3,000 crore investment, Shree Cement Rs 1,100 crore and Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd Rs 300 crore.
State industries minister Nitish Mishra expressed his delight at the overwhelming response from investors, highlighting Bihar’s journey toward reclaiming its economic prominence. “Bihar has risen from a negative growth rate to achieving historic milestones, contributing significantly to the country’s growth. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted during the Nalanda University inauguration, Bihar’s development reflects its hardiness and ambition. The MoUs worth Rs 1.8 lakh crore marked a transformative leap, signalling greater progress ahead,” Mishra said.
Bandana Preyashi, secretary of the industries department, highlighted the exceptional growth in investment commitments. “The response has exceeded our expectations with the MoUs signed this year more than tripling last year’s Rs 50,530 crore. Of last year’s commitments, around Rs 38,000 crore have already materialised,” she said. Preyashi also assured investors that the state would provide all necessary support to bring the new MoUs to fruition.
The summit was graced by prominent industry figures, including Pranav Adani, director of Adani Enterprises; Dilip Sanghvi, managing director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries; Hari Mohan Bangur, managing director of Shree Cement Ltd; Harmit Sethi, executive director of Dalmia Bharat Enterprises Ltd; Paritosh Ladhani, director of SLMG; Raj Kumar Chaudhary, chairman and managing director of NHPC and SK Behera, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Eastern Regional Council.
Senior govt officials, including principal secretary to the CM Deepak Kumar, chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena and development commissioner Pratyaya Amrit also actively participated in technical sessions, engaging with stakeholders to ensure a collaborative approach toward industrial growth.
A coffee-table book titled ‘Bihar: A Journey of Industrial Transformation’ was unveiled during the event.