Wednesday, January 18, 2006

World Bank team to visit Bihar in February

World Bank team to visit Bihar in February

Indo-Asian News Service

Patna, January 19, 2006

A World Bank team, led by country director Michael Carter, will visit Bihar in February to assess and explore investment opportunities in key development sectors like roads, health, education and power.

The visit was finalised at a meeting between World Bank officials and Chief Secretary GS Kang in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Kang informed bank officials about development plans of the new government, led by the Janata Dal-United's Nitish Kumar. This follows a meeting between the chief minister and the country director of the IMF in New Delhi to garner funds for development of the state.

Last month, World Bank's India Country Director Carter had visited Bihar and the team submitted its report on improving the state's infrastructure and financial health.

According to a World Bank report on Bihar, nearly 40 per cent of its around 82 million population live below the poverty line, the highest in India. Its poverty gap, which measures the depth of poverty, is far above the national average.

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