February has been a fabulous month for Nitish Kumar as the growth rate reached 10.5 per cent, which is not only impressive in itself as the national economy's growth rate declined poorly, clocked at 6.8 per cent.
According to State Planning and Development Minister Maheswar Hazari, Bihar's growth figure is significant not only because the state has maintained its double-digit growth rate, but also because the state has made it despite the overall slowdown in the economy.
"The growth rate has been possible because of Nitish Kumar's constant thrust on public expenditure and tight financial management. It is his leadership, which has made the difference," said the minister.
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Interestingly, the good news on Bihar's growth rate has reached to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who picked a leaf out of Nitish Kumar's governance model when she made a provision of "providing piped water supply to all households" in her Budget speech on February 1.
Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech, spoke about Centre's new scheme of making safe drinking water available for every citizen. However, it becomes important to note that Bihar already has its own 'Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal' scheme to provide clean and safe drinking water to every household.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launched its resolution after winning a landslide in 2015 assembly polls, whose part of Nitish Kumar's Saat Nishchay (Seven Resolve) says the water scheme is being implemented through Bihar Rajya Jal Parishad (BRJP), Bihar Urban Infrastructure, Development Corporation (BUIDCO), Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Urban Local Bodies.
Nitish Kumar's seven resolves, incidentally, are the core of the Bihar government's core governance model, and efforts have been made in abundance to fulfill the CM's resolves.
Union finance minister, in her Budget speech has declared that the Centre's resolve is to provide piped water supply to all households. "Our government has approved 3.60 lakh crore for this mission. This scheme also places emphasis on augmenting local water sources, recharging existing sources and will promote water harvesting and desalination," she said.
Bihar Information & Public Relations Minister Neeraj Kumar quoted the example of Centre adopting Bihar's development scheme is a testament to Nitish Kumar's leadership and vision. He further added, there have been other Bihar government's schemes too, which have been adopted by Centre and other states.
One of the first of Nitish Kumar's reformative actions was raising women's reservation to 50 per cent in Panchayat Raj institutions, which was later adopted by the Centre.
In 2006, shortly after taking over as Bihar Chief Minister in November 2005, Nitish had introduced 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayat and local bodies in Bihar. Representation of women in any elected legislative body had never exceeded 20 per cent before the decision taken by Nitish's government.
The central government, then ruled by Manmohan Singh's UPA, adopted Nitish Kumar's idea and approved 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions across the country in August 2009.
Since then, The Nitish Kumar government has only built upon its affirmative action towards women. Bihar has also provided 35 per cent horizontal quota for women in all reserved categories for government jobs.
Jeevika, a brainchild of Nitish Kumar, has been another of Bihar government's schemes that the Centre has adopted. Started in 2006 in 18 blocks to provide livelihoods to rural poor households through developing women institutions, like Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, (Jeevika), has now transformed into a statewide movement improving the lives of more than 80 lakh families in Bihar. The most important transformation triggered because of Jeevika is that a woman self-help group member is now seen as an equal economic participant in her household.
There are many other initiatives like Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana, which has given cycles to 12 lakh school-going students, which have been adopted by many other states.
"One of the biggest acknowledgments of Nitish Kumar's initiative came from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Though Nitish was with NDA and hence leader of an opposition party during the UPA regime, the then Prime Minister had praised Bihar government as the fastest growing state in the country. It did not, therefore, surprise us when the Union finance minister adopted a Bihar scheme and pledged to execute it across the country," said a top JDU leader in Patna.