Bihar's Moment: Why we've launched the Bodhi Centre for Sustainable Growth

The Union Budget 2025 has put Bihar squarely in the national spotlight with landmark initiatives like the establishment of a Makhana Board, the expansion of IIT Patna, new greenfield airports, expressways, tourism corridors, energy infrastructure, an industrial node at Gaya under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, and the Western Koshi Canal project—all signaling a transformative era for the state. 

In this moment of transformation, we are proud to launch the Bodhi Centre for Sustainable Growth—a hub for forward-thinking solutions, resilience, and prosperity. The future isn’t just coming to Bihar—it’s being built here.

When Heritage Meets Hope

But why another organization? Bihar isn't just another developing state. It's a land where ancient wisdom once illuminated the path for seekers worldwide. The universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila invited scholars from all over the world. Today, as one of India's fastest-growing states, despite the global shocks, Bihar stands at a fascinating crossroads where heritage meets unprecedented opportunity.

But here's the challenge: While Bihar contributes around 3 % to India's greenhouse emissions today, projections show these could multiply several times in the future. This is where the Bodhi Centre comes in.

What Sets Us Apart

At the Bodhi Centre, we’re aiming to redefine what it means to drive change. The Bodhi Centre stands as a unique fusion of local expertise and global perspectives. Our team brings decades of experience from international development organizations while maintaining an unwavering commitment to Bihar's transformation. Think of BODHI as your trusted local guides, navigating a path forward with a global perspective.

Our approach? We call it the BODHI way of learning and doing:

• Baseline Assessment: We will start by truly understanding ground realities and the landscape

• Outreach and Inclusive Engagement: Building collaborative ecosystems that amplify local and diverse voices

• Data-Driven Insights: Synthesizing advanced scientific tools with traditional knowledge

• Holistic Interventions: Designing integrated solutions that can potentially address interconnected challenges

• Impact-Focused: Establishing clear, transparent metrics to assess the effectiveness of our interventions, continuously gathering stakeholder feedback to adapt and improve our strategies.

  

Our Focus Areas

While the Union Budget's announcements - from food processing to infrastructure - signal the government's commitment, we're focusing on critical areas that will shape Bihar's future:

1. Climate-Resilient Agriculture: With over 76% of our workforce in agriculture, which contributes approximately 19% to the GSDP and is characterized by more than 95% of farmers being small and marginal, we're developing strategies that safeguard farmer livelihoods while enhancing the resilience of the agroecosystem.

2. Low-Carbon Economic Transition: We're working on transforming key sectors - from modernizing brick kilns and developing low-carbon industrial transition pathways to promoting renewable energy solutions that power rural economies. 

3. Institutional Capacity: The State is susceptible to extreme climate events (~76% of the area is flood-prone and over 50% is vulnerable to drought) that have affected millions of life in the last decade, our initiatives aim to enhance the capacity of local institutions, integrate climate data into decision support system, and ensure sustainable and informed climate policies.

4. Climate Finance: By prioritizing strategic sectors, our approach mobilizes green investments, creates new financial tools and dedicated funding mechanisms for green development, and harnesses climate finance to drive a low-carbon economy, ensuring a resilient future for the state while addressing climate challenges.

Why Now?

The timing couldn't be better. Bihar has already demonstrated remarkable resilience, maintaining growth even during global disruptions. However, with 14 districts ranked among India's 50 most climate-vulnerable regions, including the Himalayan Tarai districts exposed to floods and the southwestern districts highly vulnerable to extreme heat events, there is an urgent need for a scientific strategy rooted in local expertise and informed by global perspectives to address these challenges.

As the Budget showed, the momentum for transformation is building. What's needed now are institutions that can bridge research and implementation, combine technical expertise with local knowledge, and support evidence-based decision-making across sectors.

Join Us on This Journey

We do not envision the Bodhi Centre as just another institution - it's a start to reimagine Bihar's development pathways and potentially convert the challenges to opportunities of economic transformation. We're bringing together government bodies, research and academic institutions, community organizations, and national/International experts to create a positive impact at scale in the region.

As Bihar charts its course toward sustainable prosperity, we invite you to be part of this transformation. Whether you're a policymaker, researcher, funder, or simply someone who believes in Bihar's potential, you have a very crucial place in this journey.

Let's build this together.

On behalf of everyone,

The Bodhi Centre for Sustainable Growth