Parliament Question: Industrial investment and manufacturing growth in Bihar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2451. TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 13TH MARCH, 2026. INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT AND MANUFACTURING GROWTH IN BIHAR 2451. SHRI AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH: Will the Minister of Commerce and Industry be pleased to state: (a) whether Bihar continues to lag behind other States in attracting large-scale industrial investment and manufacturing projects; (b) the number of industrial projects approved or facilitated in Bihar during the last three years; (c) whether infrastructure, logistics or regulatory constraints have been identified as the limiting factors; and (d) the steps taken to improve 'Ease of Doing Business' and promote industrial and MSME growth in Bihar? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MIN ISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) & (b): The primary responsibility for developing the industrial sector rests with the State Governments, which adopt different policy measures to promote industrial development. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the State/UT Governments through various schemes, programmes, and policy initiatives for the overall development and promotion of industry across the country, including in Bihar. These initiatives include the Scheme for Investment Promotion, Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and initiatives aimed at reducing compliance burden, the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, Integrated Manufacturing Clusters (IMCs) under the National Industrial Corridors, Startup India, Make in India, PM Gati Shakti, National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP),National Single Window System (NSWS), India Industrial Land Bank (IILB),reforms in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Project Monitoring Group (PMG), etc. which facilitates setting up of major infrastructure projects across the country. Government of Bihar has informed that under the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (BIIPP), 2016, a total of 994 industrial units are presently operational in the State, out of which 890 are in the manufacturing sector and 104 arein the service sector. Further, 403 units belong to the Micro category, 390 units to the Small category, 151 units to the Medium category and 50 units to the Large category. Under the BIIPP, 2016, total 721 investment proposals amounting to Rs. 9709.75 crore have been approved for financial clearance since FY 2022-23. (c) & (d): The State Government has undertaken measures such as implementation of the Bihar Logistics Policy 2023, development of plug-and-play industrial facilities, and integration of land records, utilities and infrastructure planning under PM GatiShakt to address challenges of availability of ready industrial infrastructure, logistics efficiency, coordination across departments, and compliance-related delays affecting ease of establishment and operations, particularly for MSMEs. For ease of doing business, initiatives aimed at simplifying and streamlining business regulations have been undertaken by the Central Government including the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP), the B-Ready assessment, Jan Vishwas and Reducing Compliance Burden on Businesses and Citizens and measurement of Cost of Regulation. Under, the Regulatory Compliance Burden (RCB) initiative various Ministries, Departments, and States/UTs are supported in reducing the compliance burden on citizens and businesses. The goal is to enhance Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living through four key strategies: Simplification of procedures, Rationalization of laws, Digitization of processes, and Decriminalization of minor offences. Regulatory Compliance (RC) Portal has been developed for tracking action taken by Ministries/ Departments and States/UTs to reduce compliance burden. Reduction in regulatory compliance burden has been undertaken through the online Single Window Clearance System (SWC 2.0), time-bound approvals under the Bihar Right to Public Services Act, digitisation of labour and tax registrations, adoption of risk-based inspections, simplification of factory and trade licensing, and use of third- party certification for environmental clearances. Further, ongoing Ease of Doing Business and Deregulation 1.0 and 2.0 initiatives aim to make compliance more predictable and business-friendly. These measures are expected to progressively mitigate identified constraints and strengthen the investment ecosystem in the State. To support MSMEs, the Central Government is implementing schemes/programmes including Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana (PMV), Micro and Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), Udyam Registration, Technology Centres and Extension Centres (TCEC), and Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP).The Government of Bihar has undertaken several comprehensive measures to strengthen the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), promote industrial development, and facilitate MSME growth in the State. These reforms focus on digitization, regulatory simplification, infrastructure enhancement, and investor facilitation as under: i. Enabling real-time investor support through single-window portals, helplines, 24×7 chatbots, and Udyog Mitra handholding. ii. Providing plug-and-play infrastructure in industrial parks to reduce setup time for investors. iii. Facilitating energy access with online electricity connections, DG set registrations, and real-time power information. iv. Unlocking industrial potential through amendments in building regulations to minimize land loss in industrial plots. v. Streamlining land allotment and online bidding for industrial plots through BIADA for transparency and efficiency. vi. Accelerating clearances by re-classifying non-polluting industries into the White Category under environmental laws. vii. Simplifying pollution compliance with auto-renewal of consents, online modules, and risk-based inspection regimes. viii. Expanding workforce participation by removing restrictive provisions that prohibited women from working in certain hazardous industries. ix. Modernizing Labour laws to allow flexible working hours, spread-over, and enhanced overtime limits for factories and commercial establishments. x. Promoting transparent decision-making with online incentive modules, dashboards, and feedback mechanisms. xi. Backed by strong inter-departmental coordination, time-bound legislative action, and digital enablement of services, Bihar is embedding deregulation and EoDB as core pillars of economic governance. xii. A fully functional State Single Window System (SSWS) (https://swc2.bihar.gov.in) has been implemented, providing end-to-end services including CAF submission, incentive calculator, grievance redressal, real-time dashboards, and Chatbot assistance. The SSWS has been successfully integrated with the National Single Window System (NSWS) for seamless downward data synchronization and upward integration via Open APIs for major regulatory departments including Urban Development, Pollution Control, Labour, Fire, Revenue, and Factories, ensuring unified investor access without redirection. xiii. In line with Deregulation reforms, the State has adopted PAN as the common business identifier, fully enabled by system-level integration with NSDL, ensuring consistency across applications, approvals, filings, and investor workflows. *******