Nitish Kumar has assumed the role of Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time. His supporters often refer to his tenure as ‘good governance.’ For the past 17 years, he has been the Chief Minister for most of the time. Nitish Kumar’s supporters have considered him a potential candidate for the Prime Minister’s post for nearly a decade. In Bihar, his tenure is often branded as ‘Sushasan’ (good governance). To assess Nitish’s governance, we have examined data from 2004-05 to the 2023.
How Much Improvement Has Occurred During the Jungle Raj?
While the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) refers to Nitish and the BJP’s rule as ‘Jungle Raj’ in Bihar, has there been any improvement during Nitish’s tenure? Data indicates that in 2020, Bihar was among the selected states where ‘violent crimes’ increased each year.
In 2018, the number of violent crimes in Bihar was 44,407, which increased to 51,116 in 2020. In terms of crime, neighboring Uttar Pradesh, which has consistently ranked alongside Bihar over these three years, saw a decrease in violent crimes. In 2018, Uttar Pradesh had a total of 65,155 violent crimes, which decreased to 51,983 in 2020.
Comparing this to 2005, Bihar had 24,073 violent crimes, accounting for 11.87% of the nation's violent crimes. In 2020, the number of violent crimes increased to 51,116, accounting for 12.77% of the country's total violent crimes. This means that over the past 17 years, violent crimes have increased in Bihar compared to the national average.
Per Capita Income in Bihar Still Lags Behind
In 2004-05, Bihar's per capita income was only INR 7,914, while the national average per capita income was INR 24,143. By 2019-20, Bihar's income had increased to INR 46,292, but the national per capita income had risen to INR 1,28,829. Bihar remains one of the lowest-income states in the country.
Bihar's Per Capita Power Availability is Half the National Average
Electricity availability is a crucial indicator of development in any state. In 2004-05, Bihar had a per capita availability of electricity of 78 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which has now increased to 533 kWh.However, this is still only half of the national average. In 2004-05, India's per capita electricity availability was 313 kWh, which has now increased to 1,031 kWh.
Road Network Improvements in Bihar
Road networks are essential for a state's development. In 2005, Bihar had a road network of 1,19,958 kilometers, while the country's total road network was 29,62,463 kilometers. At that time, the country's road network was 24 times larger than Bihar's.
By 2018, Bihar's road network had expanded to nearly 2.9 lakh kilometers, while the country's road network had grown 18 times to 53.15 lakh kilometers.
Healthcare Services in Bihar
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, Bihar's Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) decreased from 61 in 2005-06 to 32 in 2019-21, showing improvement.
Institutional Births, which refer to childbirth under medical supervision, have also increased. In 2005-06, only 20% of births in Bihar were institutional, but this has now risen to approximately 76%. However, Bihar still lags behind the national average in both IMR and Institutional Births.
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) measures the average number of children born per woman. According to the NFHS-3 survey in 2005-06, Bihar had a TFR of 4, which has now reduced to 2.98.
As we have found that Bihar has made progress in various areas, but it still lags behind the national average. The data indicates that Bihar has shown great improvement during Nitish Kumar's governance period, but still it is work in progress on most of the development parameters. But still they are in bottom at most of the development indicators.
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