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Poverty Alleviation in Bihar
The paper “Eliminating Poverty in Bihar: Paradoxes, Bottlenecks and Solutions” is near perfect in terms of the issues raised. But there is a need to go beyond focusing on the economic and infrastructural aspects of development. A complex society like Bihar needs a revolution in terms of bureaucratic restructuring, remittance-based planning, and promotion of an entrepreneurial culture.
Mihir Shah’s paper “Eliminating Poverty in Bihar: Paradoxes, Bottlenecks and Solutions” (EPW, 6 February 2016) provides a well-thought of and almost comprehensive idea of possible solutions to the problem of eliminating poverty in Bihar. However, a close reading suggests that it overlooks a few important issues. While I agree with a majority of the suggestions made by Shah, I find weaknesses particularly in suggestions on three points—agriculture, self-help groups (SHGs), and interventions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Agriculture-based Approach
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