On 17th Feb, 2022, EDII signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bihar Government’s Department of Industries to promote entrepreneurship in the state. EDII will conduct entrepreneurship development interventions across the state and will sensitize the stakeholders in the support system to create a conducive environment. The interventions will also ensure that the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development gets revived with a new strategy plan. Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII, Dr. Raman Gujral, Director, Department of Projects-Corporates, EDII and Dr. Pankaj Bharti, Associate Professor, EDII presented an action plan before senior officials of the state government on the trajectory that could be adopted to enhance the entrepreneurship quotient in the state.

Present during the MoU signing event were; Shri Brijesh Mehrotra, Additional Chief Secretary, Industry Dept. Bihar; Shri Pankaj Dixit, Executive Director, Institute of Entrepreneurship Development and Director (Industries) & Director (Technical Development), Dept. of Industries, Govt. of Bihar and Shri Santosh Kumar Sinha, Executive Director, Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority. The environment and the discussion echoed a strong resolve to achieve the mandate. On this occasion, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII said, “We at EDII are committed to train and empower different sections of society on the premise of entrepreneurship which is the future of the nation. Bihar is resource rich state and entrepreneurship development efforts in the state will sure lead to commendable economic growth. EDII already has a presence in some regions of the state, and with these recent developments, we look forward to further strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state. The support that we are getting is commendable and we are greatly obliged to the policy makers and key advisors for helping us in this mandate.”

To further work out the modalities of promoting entrepreneurship in the state, Dr. Sunil Shukla had detailed meetings with Honourable Minister of Industries, Bihar, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Honourable Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh. The meetings helped deliberately on the ways and means that could be adopted in the state for streamlining entrepreneurship. Director General also discussed the way forward towards entrepreneurship development in Bihar with Shri Amir Subhani, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar. The discussions yielded some tangible outcomes towards concretising entrepreneurship in the state.

To explore the possibilities of EDII’s collaboration for strengthening entrepreneurship in bamboo and medicinal plants in Bihar, the delegation also met Shri Dipak Singh IAS, Principal Secretary, Environment Forest and Climate Change Department, Govt. of Bihar. The EDII team also visited the state office of Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Multi-Disciplinary Training Centre (RMDTC) at Patna. They had a brief interaction with RMDTC trainees and the KVIC Director, Dr. Hanif Mevati & team regarding possibilities for collaborations to promote village industries and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state.