Of the 700 students who qualified for IAS and IPS in the last 10 years, 25 per cent belonged to Bihar, said Afzal Amanullah, medical education secretary and president of the state IAS Association. In the 1997 examination, Nalanda district alone could boast 14 entrants to the civil service.

A major chunk of students who qualified for the IAS in the last 10 years was from Bihar

The Patna model of taxation has earned kudos from the UN and is being copied by many countries

The coopera-tive movement is making big strides in the state, especially in the dairy sector

Bihar is self-dependent in grain production and sells rice to 13 other states of the country

Bihar is ahead of many states in per capita deposits, getting Rs 7,000 crore annually

Nigam Prakash, Indian ambassador to Argentina, was the first person from Bihar to top the civil services examinations, in 1967. He did his schooling at St Michael's in Patna and later attended St Stephen's College in Delhi. The other toppers include Amir Subhani in 1987, Prasant Kumar in 1988, Anu Agrawal in 1989 and Alok Ranjan Jha in 2002.

The state has held pride of place in the civil services toppers' list for decades. In 1958, Syed Sahabuddin from Gaya came second in the examination. (He resigned and joined politics on the advice of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1977.) In 1970, Laxmi Singh came second.

The trend continues. Also, in recent years, large number of students from Bihar have been topping entrance tests conducted by Indian institutes of technology and regional engineering colleges. Many have continued their pursuit of excellence abroad. Ashif Rashidi, a US-based engineer who belongs to Biharsharif in Nalanda, was honoured with the prestigious Hind Ratan Award recently in recognition of his outstanding achievements. Many others are waiting in the line.

Taxing them simply
The Patna model of taxation has earned much acclaim and is now being copied by many countries. The United Nations recently acknowledged it with an award of $30,000 (given annually for the best practices to improve the living environment) and many Commonwealth countries have evinced interest in it.

The taxation system was introduced in 1993 by then Patna Municipal Corporation administrator S.K. Singh, who is now the director in the urban development ministry. It was put to practice in 1995.

Under the system, property tax rates were redefined on the basis of location and use. Properties were classified according to location (main road or side road), construction and use (commercial or residential). For instance, a person owning commercial property by a principal main road had to pay Rs 54 per square feet. The rates varied according to the classification. People in Patna paid the highest property tax in the country at 43.5 per cent and also the lowest at 9 per cent.

Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh have now adopted the system that helps simplify an otherwise cryptic and cumbersome tax structure. The state can collect a larger amount of tax when compared to the old system, with less headache for officials (and tax payers). Several African countries and Sri Lanka have borrowed the idea to simplify their tax system. That is one Bihar model you can follow safely.

Cash cow
In the era of corporates, cooperatives don't have much to write home about. Not so with Bihar. A lone cooperative federation is quietly spearheading the state's white revolution and is also making a tidy profit.

The Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd, founded in 1983, is Bihar's own cash cow. Its Sudha milk and milk products are already the flavour of the state. Now it is extending its reach to other states.

In 1992-93 the average milk procurement of the state was 103.80 tkpd (thousand kg per day). This has now gone up to 350.74 tkpd, registering a proud growth of 340 per cent in a decade. "We have been marketing milk and products like ghee, table butter, ice cream, dahi, lassi and flavoured milk to Delhi, Kolkata, Gauhati and Varanasi", said Dr D.S. Gangwar, managing director of the federation.

The federation's annual turnover was Rs 159.61 crore in 1996-97 but by the end of 2001-2002 it touched Rs 305 crore. Land of milk and honey? Maybe not, but not the hell it is made out to be, either.

Move over, Punjab
India used to call itself an agricultural country but Bihar seems to be the only state which takes the epithet seriously. The state is fully self-dependent in grain production and is supplying rice to 13 states in the country. (Grain merchants in the state have been 'unofficially' supplying rice to Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.)

Jagadanand Singh claimed that Bihar would be able to break all records in grain production and "leave Punjab far behind" if the Centre behaved more responsibly and provided storage and marketing facilities.

Bihar happens to be the leader in the production of spices as well. This is surprising information even for those on top. Said Sudhir Kumar Rakesh, an IAS officer: "I always thought it was Kerala. But the director of the Central Food Technology Research Institute told me it was Bihar".

Begusarai district of Bihar is number one in maize production. So, which state is the granary of the country?

Flow of money
Statisticians may continue to argue but the fact is that Bihar is ahead of many other states in per capita deposits.

The state gets an annual deposit of Rs 7,000 crore. Patna receives Rs 2 crore per month from foreign countries through the international money transfer system. It stands second in the list of cities, surpassed by Hyderdabad. Biharis living in the US, the UK and Gulf countries send money home through this system.

The state received Rs 800 crore in 2001-02 through money orders, mostly from labourers working in Haryana and neighbouring states. Biharis send about 16 per cent of the total number of money orders in the country. (Kerala tops the list.) The thousands of labourers from the state toiling in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh despatch the largest number of money orders. Investment by banks is low in comparison with deposits. But that is another issue altogether.

So, is the glass half-full or half- empty? Labour Commisioner Vivek Kumar Singh has no doubts. An IAS officer of the 1989 batch, Singh was allotted Himachal Pradesh cadre though he asked for Bihar cadre. "I took the issue to the Central Administrative Tribunal and won the battle," he said. "I came to Bihar in 1991. I am proud to be a Bihari."

He recently organised a badminton tournament in Patna. "Before leaving, the participants said that they had never experienced such wonderful hospitality," he said. Maybe a second list of good things about Bihar should be attempted. Beginning with hospitality.

Interview/ Laloo Prasad Yadav, former chief minister
I will turn Bihar into a dreamland

Laloo Prasad Yadav is holding court in his house. Excise Minister Shivanand Tiwari and party leaders sitting around are all ears. They listen to each word he utters and pays proper deference to his instructions. They nod their heads when he muses loudly on the twists and turns of politics. Laloo makes no bones of the fact that he runs the state through remote control. Excerpts from an interview:

HIGH HOPES: Laloo Yadav with CM Rabri Devi

Why does the media ignore the good things that have happened in Bihar during the 13-year RJD rule?
I do not want to comment on the so-called think-tanks. They have no desire to see an egalitarian society in Bihar. They have been calling it the worst state. But tell me, which state has progressed without the support of the government in Delhi? The media and opposition parties turn blind when it comes to the question of making a real assessment of the state's assets and ills.

You are always blaming the Centre while it says that its funds are usually returned unused.
That is not true. The media and certain political leaders (who oppose me) have been hiding the truth. Some funds had to be returned because we could not use it for welfare schemes. But that is not the point. This is insufficient to cure the wound. We need a comprehensive package and a fat amount for the all-round development of the state. That has not been provided to us since the nation got Independence. We have water and fertile soil. But we should also have power and link roads connecting villages to the national highway.

The ministers from Bihar in the NDA government say that the funds they provide are going waste because of your non-cooperation.
These ministers are trying to fool the people. If we stand united, the state will become heaven. Why should I oppose the state's progress? It is a nonsensical allegation. I want the downtrodden masses of the state to get the maximum benefit from development projects. I urge the people of the state to give me at least 35 seats in the next Lok Sabha polls. I will show them how a state is converted into a dreamland.

Who all are responsible for the present condition of the state?
The planners in successive governments which ruled from the 50s. In my 13-year rule, I have not imposed a single paisa as tax on the people of my state.

You are a seasoned politician. Why are you portrayed as a joker?
Because I have been fighting against different types of frauds in society. People who have a feudal mentality feel happy branding me a joker. But people belonging to lower strata and the minority communities see me as a messiah, since they know that I am committed to their cause. Newspapers charged me with ruling the state from behind bars. Well, what is wrong with it? As chief of the political party in power I have a right to dictate terms, even from prison.