Bihar

Coordinates (Patna): 25.37°N 85.13°ECoordinates: 25.37°N 85.13°E

Country                India

Region  Angika Region, Bhojpuri Region, Magadh Region, Mithila Region

Division               Patna, Tirhut, Saran, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Munger, Magadha

Established        1912 (as Bihar)

Capital  Patna

Largest city         Patna

Districts               38 total

Government

 - Body  Government of India, Government of Bihar

 - Governor         Devanand Konwar

 - Chief Minister               Nitish Kumar

Sushil Kumar Modi (Deputy)

 - Legislature      Bicameral (243 + 75 seats)

 - Parliamentary constituency    Bihar

 - High Court      Patna High Court

Area†

 - Total  94,163 km2 (36,356.5 sq mi)

Area rank            12th

Population (2011)[1]

 - Total  103,804,637

 - Rank  3rd

 - Density             1,102.4/km2 (2,855.2/sq mi)

Time zone           IST (UTC+05:30)

UN/LOCODE       INBR

ISO 3166 code    IN-BR

Vehicle registration       BR

HDI        0.449 (low)

HDI rank              28th (2005)

Literacy                63.82% (28th)

73.4% (male)

53.3% (female)

Official languages           Hindi, Urdu, Maithili,[2] Magahi.

Website              gov.bih.nic.in

Bihar (Hindi: is a state in eastern India.[3][4] It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq mi (94,163 km²) and 3rd largest by population. Close to 85% of the population lives in villages. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25,[5] which is the highest proportion in India.

Bihar lies mid-way between West Bengal in the east and Uttar Pradesh in the west. It is bounded by the country of Nepal to the north and by Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is divided into two parts by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km²,[6] which is 6.8% of its geographical area. Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state, while the majority of the people speak Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili and Bajjika. A total of 16.5% of Bihar's people are Muslims and another 12.7% belong to the Ahir caste,Scheduled castes that comprise 14% of the people. Other castes include the Kayasthas (12%), Kurmis and Koeris (7.7%) and Brahmins (4.7%).[7]

Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga, Videha/Mithila, Magadha and Vajji/Vrijji) was a centre of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India.[8] From Magadha arose India's first great empire, the Maurya empire as well as one of the world's most widely adhered-to religions, Buddhism.[9] Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.[10] Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an important centre of Indian civilization. Nalanda was a centre of learning established by the 5th century CE in Bihar.

Today, Bihar lags behind the other Indian states in human, economic development terms.[11][12][13] Economists and social scientists claim that this is a direct result of the skewed policies of the central government, such as the freight equalization policy,[14][15] its apathy towards Bihar,[5][16][17] lack of Bihari sub-nationalism (resulting in no spokesperson for the state),[15][18][19] and the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by the British East India Company.[15] The current state government has however made significant strides in improving governance.[20]

The improved governance has led to an economic revival[21] in the state through increased investment in infrastructure, better health care facilities, greater emphasis on education, and an abatement in crime and corruption.[22][23] Indian[24] and global business and economic leaders feel that Bihar now has good opportunity to sustain its growth and thus have shown interest in investing in the state.[25][26] A recent New York Times article talks about the vastly improved law and order situation in the state and the phenomenal economic growth shown over the course of last 5 years.[27] Another BBC article titled "Where 'backward' Bihar leads India"[28] talked about how the state has made strides in the areas of women empowerment, judicial reforms, tax reforms, and public safety. Between 2003 and 2008, the inflow of foreign tourists saw a near-sixfold rise from 61,000 to 346,000.[29]