Patna: Bihar’s Planning and Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav has called on government officials to adopt a more practical and data-based approach to development, saying the state has a strong opportunity to move faster on growth and industrial development. Speaking at a one-day training workshop organised by the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) in Patna, the minister said Bihar is seeing positive changes and these must be used wisely to improve people’s lives.
The minister explained that in today’s world, important decisions are no longer taken on guesswork or assumptions. Instead, governments across the globe are using data and evidence to plan policies and programmes. He said Bihar should also move in this direction by using proper data analysis along with the state’s natural strengths, such as the availability of water and human resources. According to him, combining facts with ground reality can help create a clear and long-term vision for Bihar’s sustainable and industrial development.
Addressing the workshop, additional chief secretary of the Planning and Development Department, Dr N Vijaya Lakshmi, highlighted a major challenge faced by the state. She said that despite being the nodal department for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is still limited clarity about Bihar’s actual progress on these goals. She stressed that good and simple report writing is essential, as it helps bring together data from different departments, analyse it properly and use it for better policy decisions.
The training programme focused on improving these very skills among government officials. Earlier, ADRI’s member-secretary, Dr Ashmita Gupta, and other faculty members conducted five interactive sessions covering different types of report writing. Officials were trained in data collection, analysis, GIS mapping, digital tools and the ethical use of data. Around 45 officials took part in the workshop, showing growing interest in improving planning skills within the government. The programme ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Deepak Kumar, who emphasised the need for more such workshops to strengthen governance in Bihar.
