Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been urged to take benefits of interest-free Islamic finance for the infrastructure development of Bihar. H Abdur Raqeeb, Convenor, National Committee on Islamic Banking and General Secretary, Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF), met the CM in Patna on April 20 and urged him to use huge pool of liquidity lying in the Gulf States.
Mr Raqeeb informed the CM that after 9/11, liquidity rich Gulf States are looking towards India and China for long term investments in trillions. “With huge human capital-demographic dividend in the state, this available long term Islamic finance could be used in infrastructure development of the state of Bihar under your able stewardship and turn it to be one of the developed states and role model in the years to come,” Mr Raqeeb said in his memorandum to the CM.
He also apprised him that some states of the country have already attracted investment from Gulf and urged him to take cue from them. Mr Raqeeb also urged the CM to prevail upon the centre to take step in this regard. “The states of Maharashtra and Kerala have already taken the steps in this regard. In Maharashtra, Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House is investing $10 billion in the coming years for setting up an integrated Economic Development Zone near Mumbai. In Kerala, to tap the remittances of Gulf region, the state government has initiated an NBFC of Rs 1000 crores along with private investors for infrastructure development and Kerala State Industrial Development Corp is having a share in it. Therefore it is requested that Bihar government can also pursue this option of huge long term investment and turn the state into a bastion of development and prosperity.”