Bihar Development Forum ‘Atmanirbhar Bihar’ Virtual Conference
Overview
As Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to create a self-reliant India – Atmanirbhar Bharat – what would it take for Bihar to become Atmanirbhar? Is Bihar geared up to turn the Covid crisis into an opportunity? These are some of the questions of masses at large. In view of this, the upcoming Bihar Development Forum themed as ‘Atmanirbhar Bihar’ delves on the issues impacting the socio-economic development of Bihar.
This day-long virtual conference will deliberate on three broad areas – Education, Healthcare and Jobs. This conference is organised by Bihar Connect, a think tank, spearheaded by Domain Experts, Academicians, Thought Leaders and Professionals from Bihar. We have been studying and documenting the policy interventions and their progress at the grassroots level for the past several years. Our endeavour has been to highlight the felt-needs of the common people and bring that in the focus of policymaking discourse.
While grassroots level understanding and documentation of the issues are important, it will not make a difference at the ground unless the felt-needs and the ideas are connected to the policy. Bihar Development Forum seeks to fill the gaps between felt-needs and policymaking. It is a non-political and non-partisan platform that engages with wide range of stakeholders, including the policymakers, bureaucrats, academia and industry leaders.
The conference is divided in three parts – Inaugural Session : Atmanirbhar Bihar for Atmanirbhar Bharat; Plenary Session-I : National Educational Policy and Atmanirbhar Bihar; and .
Inaugural Session : Atmanirbhar Bihar for Atmanirbhar Bharat
Session Brief
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement) has acquired the centre stage of socio-economic policies to deal with the unprecedented economic crisis triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic. The central government has unveiled Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help India tide over the Covid crisis and make it ‘self-reliant’. While announcing the special economic package Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about turning the Covid crisis into an opportunity to make India self-reliant. What would it take for Bihar to become Atmanirbhar? How can Bihar turn the Covid crisis into an opportunity to become self-reliant?
Key speakers
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law & Justice, Communications, Electronics and IT
Mr. N K Singh, Chairman, 15th Finance Commission
Dr. Sanjay Paswan, Former Union Minister
Dr. Shaibal Gupta, Founder Member-Secretary, Asian Development Research Institute
Dr. Praveen K Singh, Chief Editor, BiharConnect
Mr. Gyanendra Kumar Keshri, Editor & CEO, BiharConnect
Plenary Session-I : National Educational Policy and Atmanirbhar Bihar
Session Brief
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has replaced 34 year old National Policy on Education, 1986. The new policy puts forward several good proposals. It envisions an institutional rearrangement and talks about moving away from rote-learning and make educational institutions vibrant. What is in it for Bihar? The condition of educational infrastructure in Bihar is poor. In order to make colleges and school complexes a vibrant unit huge amount of resources are required. What would it take to make educational institutions in Bihar at par with the national and international standards. A vibrant education system is critically important to make any state self-reliant. This panel will delve on the challenges facing the Bihar’s education system and how the new education policy would help in overcoming those challenges.
Plenary Session-II : Ease of Doing Business and Atmanirbhar Bihar
Session Brief
Jobs are among the primary reasons for migration from Bihar. In order to make the state self-reliant it is imperative that people, especially the youths, are provided job opportunities locally. Where the jobs will come from? The biggest hope lies in empowerment of startups. Coronavirus pandemic has caused disruptions in almost every sector. While the pandemic has led to huge layoffs and closure of businesses, it has also given birth to new business opportunities, especially in the areas of IT and healthcare. A lot of new opportunities are set to emerge in the coming months. What would it take for Bihar to tap the new business opportunities? In light of this the panel examines the following:
- Ease of Doing Business
- Impact of Covid-19 on small businesses and startups
- Atmanirbhar Bharat package and industries in Bihar
- Need of special package for Bihar
