From rxpgnews.com
Bihar Foundation to woo Biharis residing abroad
By RxPG News Service,
Nov 24, 2006 - 11:35:19 PM
Patna, Nov 24 - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Friday announced the setting up of a Bihar Foundation to involve Biharis settled elsewhere in India or abroad in the state's development.
'The state government is setting up a Bihar Foundation to network with people originally from the state and now settled in different countries. The aim of the foundation would be to provide a platform for these people to begin a lively relation with the state,' Nitish Kumar told reporters while releasing a report card of his government on the completion of one year in office.
He said the state's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi would head the foundation.
'It is the first such move to attract Biharis living across India and abroad to connect with their home state and its development,' said the chief minister.
The state government would help the non-resident people from the state, particularly those in US, Britain, Canada and the Arab World, to retrace their origins and contribute to development.
A large number of people from Bihar, known as the Girmitiya labourers, travelled to various parts of the world in the 19th century to work as indentured labour on sugarcane and rubber plantations.
Thousands of third or fourth generation Biharis now live in Fiji, Surinam, Mauritius and South Africa. Most are well off and play a significant role in the socio-economic and political life of their adopted countries.
A global meet on the state will be held here in January to discuss development strategies for a resurgent Bihar. Experts and investors from around the world concerned with the development of Bihar are expected to participate in the meet.
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