Bihar is back..!

Its official: Bihar is the fastest growing state in India ,clocking a growth rate of 11% in 2008-09. Moreover, the state has been maintaining a growth rate of about 10 % since 2004. The event is closely correlated with change in government at the state. It is a reflection of what good governance and pragmatic leadership can do to the fortunes of a state. There has been drastic improvement in the law and order condition and this government has given strong emphasis on infrastructure development. The govt has spent close to 36000 crores on various projects compared to just 25000 crores during the entire Lalu's regime of 1990-2005. The chief minister has led from the front in attracting investments from different business houses.

The state has also seen a marked increase in new entrepreneurial activities. Many youths have resorted to starting their own ventures and it has given rise to positive dynamism which is driving the state forward in the 21st century. However, the state has still to do a lot of catching up and it will take time before this great state gets to occupy its rightful position in India. The winds of change have begun to blow and and its just a matter of maintaining the momentum through right policy decisions.

inching towards mobile banking..!!

Mobile banking has become a buzzword in many western economies. It envisages an infrastructure based on information technology whereby payments for small ticket items like cinema or plane ticket can be made through one's mobile phone. Moreover, money can be transferred from one person to another across geographies. It will offer sweeping advantages as it will reduce transaction costs and increase the speed of flow of money. Thus , a person in London will be able to send money to his parents in a remote village in India just by the use of mobile technology.

However, there are some demerits which can derail the phenomena of mobile banking. The task of ascertaining the identity of the customer can prove to be difficult and as such the technology can be misused by terrorists for funding of clandestine operations. Secondly, it can instigate fraudulent tendencies with regard to flow of capital in a country like india whose currency is not capital account convertible.

Moreover, the increased velocity of money transfer due to mobile banking can create unlimited amount of credit and thus it may severely hamper the duty of RBI with regard to taming of inflationary expectations by controlling credit.

The unique identity project recently launched by the government can be used along with mobile banking to ensure inclusive growth by ensuring the transfer of credit to the desired target segment through mobile phones and thus getting rid of middlemen.