UP & Bihar Youth May Now Stay Close To Home

Nazia Suleman was only 13 when her parents packed her bags and sent her to join her elder brother at a boarding school in Delhi. Hold your thoughts there. Nazia's mother is a homemaker and her husband is a clerk in Bihar government revenue department. The Sararam-based family can barely afford the combined annual fee of the two children. However, in the best interest of their and their future, they have to do it.

Despite the many universities Uttar Pradesh boasts, Lucknow-based Suman Sinha chose to send her daughter, Neha Sinha, to study at Delhi University. The TV reports depicting Delhi as an unsafe place did not deter Sinha from going ahead with her decision.

It is highly unlikely that Nazia or Neha would go back to their respective towns in Bihar and UP after they complete their studies. Delhi, despite many of its problems, will be their future home. They would not the first or last people to do so. The bright youth of the two states largely move to healthier horizons leaving behind the BIMARU states. In their exodus lies the failure of their states, and in their retention will lie the future of the two states.

Now the qualified and skilled population from small cities may not require to migrate to big cities like Delhi and Mumbai to find employment. With rising operational costs in the urbanised areas of metropolitan, MNCs and IT giants are moving to tier II cities to set up their bases. These small cities are classified on the basis of their proximity to the nearest talent pool, for instance, Pune. The latest to join the bandwagon of economic development is cities in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Here is an inside detail-

Bihar 

Recently, Bihar Investment Promotion Board cleared 109 investment proposals worth Rs 6,000 crore for the economic development of the state. Soon, the state would see upcoming manufacturing units of PVC pipes, rice mills, fly ash units, LPG cylinders. Apart from this, state's first private industrial park at Phulwari has been approved by the government. This would bring a fresh lease of economic development in Gopalganj district of north-western Bihar. IT major TCS has opened a massive facility for back-end services with a seating facility for 1900 people in Patna. Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Dalsingh Sarai are other areas where three centres will be inaugurated soon. Since Bihar too is a talent rich state with high-end institutions already operational, companies are highly attractive to this region, provided state provides appealing incentives. In another development, opening of All India Institute of Medical Science is a big news in itself. Not just locals, patients have access to on-time treatment of ailments and the institute has also employed hundreds of doctors, hence giving employment in the state. Currently, the body has started recruitment drive for 250 doctors in the Phulwari Unit.

Uttar Pradesh

Owing to its growing connectivity through Lucknow-Agra Expressway, the city has become more attractive for startups as well as established business houses. The city is home to one of the biggest IT SEZ, located at Sultanpur Road where TCS and HCL have started their operations. According to an estimate, this IT park will provide direct employment to 25,000 people and indirectly employ 50,000 more. In fact, Assocham Placement Pattern study placed Lucknow in top job-generating tier II cities of India, second only to Pune.

Moreover, the new Chief Minister of the state, Yogi Adityanath has also formed a committee to relook at the investment policies of the state. Earlier, Israel and Belgium had shown deep interest in setting up their industrial base here in the state of which CM has ordered another co-ordination committee. As per data submitted by Union Communications and Information Technology Ministry, Uttar Pradesh exports software products worth Rs 18,000 crore. This also includes the revenue generated in Noida, Greater Noida which have much more established IT parks. Very soon, Infosys and Samsung will be coming up with their massive campuses in Gautam Buddha Nagar with a total investment of Rs 7,000 crore. Additionally, Yoga Guru Ramdev has also acquired a massive chunk of land near Yamuna Expressway for setting up the Patanjali Centre.

By digging the Census 2011 data, Bengaluru-based think tank Takshashila Institution has reached a conclusion that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the youngest population in India. The youth of these two states would soon disperse across the length and breadth of the nation seeking employment suited to their personal abilities. The dull one would turn to the paddy fields of Punjab; doing the same kind of labour in his own village is not monetary viable. The sharp one would rent a tiny home close and study to crack Union Public Service Commission exams.

Why can't they do it closer to their own homes? Why can't the two states, which play a decisive role in making and breaking of governments at the Centre, make it better for their own youth and utilise their skill to grow in future? Why can't they be more like Gujarat or Rajasthan? Despite their limitations, the two states have been able to retain talent based on their infrastructural growth.  

Spending billions on development programmes will not be enough for UP and Bihar to grow as long as their youth don't love them enough to stay put.

Also Read: IT Parks, Airport May Turn Bihta Realty Promising

With inputs from Surbhi Gupta