Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said Bihar was making rapid progress mainly using its own resources even though “the state needs more support”. His statement is being considered as reply to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s remark on Monday that states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were keeping India backward, especially on social indicators.However, Kant clarified on Wednesday regarding his “controversial” statement and said, “The state (Bihar) has witnessed tremendous progress over the last few months under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP). For instance, in Banka district thrives the ‘Unnayan Banka’ initiative, which envisages quality education for all with use of latest technologies. The state has shown significant reduction in dropout rate at elementary level. Employability is an integral part of this initiative, which recently saw 25 students getting placements in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the district was also chosen for the ‘Aspirational Districts Innovation Award’ on the Civil Services Day out of the 138 entries across the country. I had stated that India and certain states in particular have done remarkably well on the ease of doing business index. We need to repeat this on the human development index. Several districts of India remain backward on human development indicators because of legacy issues.”But CM Nitish said every sector in Bihar is witnessing progress. “The state’s budget has reached Rs1.80 lakh crore. We are continuously working for all-round development in the state and the results are also visible. But we do need more support,” Nitish said while addressing a symposium organized to mark the 160th death anniversary of Veer Kunwar Singh, the hero of 1857 revolt against the British Empire.Kant, in his statement, said the government’s ADP aims to overcome the shortcomings by focusing on education, health and nutrition on a real-time basis. “We are capturing incremental progress of 115 districts on 49 indicators … Since Bihar has achieved impressive economic growth in recent years in many sectors, it is desirable that this must be accompanied by all-round development as envisaged in the ADP,” he said.“The context of the ADP is just as important as its success. The country cannot grow if a few pockets in some states remain hidden from the development narrative … NITI Aayog is coordinating the programme at a national level. However, it is the state governments which have to be instrumental in ensuring the success of ADP,” Kant added.

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