Our Business Bureau /

Reserved Bank of India (RBI), Patna regional office sources revealed that the cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) investment in Bihar and Jharkhand declined by 294% during first nine months of 2016-17 from the figure recorded during corresponding period of previous fiscal.

During April-December, 2016, the cumulative FDI inflows into these two states stood at just Rs 69 crore, the statistics of RBI, Patna regional office, disclosed.

This is in contrast to April- December, 2015, i.e the first nine months of the previous fiscal of 2015-16, when the figure for these two states stood at Rs 272 crore or $43 million.

According to sources infrastructure problem and bureaucratic red-tapism are two major hurdles in ensuring FDI inflow. It further said that during April-December 2016, cumulative FDI inflows into Bihar & Jharkhand stood at just Rs 69 crore.

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under the Union commerce ministry, compiled statements of FDI inflows collected from 18 regional offices of RBI, the sources pointed out.

The figure in the first nine months of current fiscal is marginally better than what it was during the entire fiscal of 2014-15, when the figure was Rs 68 crore, it claimed.

No official comment is so far available. But sources said that Bihar Industries Association (BIA), Patna  has welcome the development and said that it was a good sign  that the  investors from other states have started taking interest in Bihar during the last couple of years. It hopes for sustain the process for attracting the outside investors to Bihar.

Sources from Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries, however alleged that infrastructure problem and bureaucratic red- tapism are two major hurdles in ensuring FDI inflow for Bihar and Jharkhand.