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Why is the debate around jobs in Bihar so shallow, so disconnected from what’s happening in the rest of the world?
Across the globe, conversations about employment revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and the future of work. But in Bihar, the discussion remains trapped in slogans, promises, and political arithmetic — a world away from reality.
Walk through the coaching centers of Patna. You’ll see thousands of students spilling out of narrow lanes, their faces filled with anxiety and hope. These are some of the most hardworking youth in India, preparing day and night for government jobs. Yet, the system seems designed to fail most of them.
How can a state with such intellectual energy and ambition still be debating jobs in the 20th-century sense — when the rest of the world is debating the disappearance of jobs altogether?
The Global Conversation: AI, Robots, and the Future of Work
In America, The New York Times recently reported that Amazon may replace 500,000 workers with robots. The debate there isn’t about migrants taking jobs — it’s about billionaires replacing humans with machines.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has laid off thousands due to AI-driven restructuring. Target, one of the biggest U.S. retail chains, is cutting 1,800 jobs.
These developments have triggered fierce debate in the West:
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Should companies pay a “robot tax”?
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Who will buy goods if humans lose purchasing power?
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How do we retrain workers for the AI era?
India’s own IT giants — the pride of a generation — are now announcing large-scale layoffs as AI automates coding, testing, and support roles. Yet in Bihar, none of this seems to matter. There’s barely a whisper of discussion about AI’s impact on jobs, skills, or policy.
The Local Reality: Empty Promises, Delayed Dreams
While the world debates the loss of jobs, Bihar’s leaders are promising to create millions.
Home Minister Amit Shah says Bihar will become an AI hub in the next ten years. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promises one crore (10 million) jobs in five years.
But what kind of jobs?
At what salaries?
And where will the money come from?
Even Amazon cannot create a million jobs in today’s world — but Bihar’s leaders say they can. For two decades, Nitish Kumar has ruled a state that remains among India’s poorest. Despite “double-engine” governments in Delhi and Patna, Bihar leads in neither manufacturing, IT, nor services.
Political stability has delivered political survival — not prosperity.
The Fantasy of Tech Parks and IT Hubs
Look at the much-celebrated Software Technology Parks in Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.
The announcements came in 2015. The foundation stones were laid years later. In Bhagalpur, the park took nine years to complete; in Darbhanga, ten.
Now that they’re finally inaugurated, what next?
Are these centers equipped for AI, data science, or robotics? Or are they simply government buildings with outdated infrastructure and no industry linkage?
If such parks were truly transforming Bihar, engineers across the state would be the first to speak up. Instead, silence reigns — replaced by caste politics and hollow declarations.
Numbers That Don’t Add Up
Nitish Kumar’s claim of giving jobs to 10 lakh (1 million) people rings hollow when you look at Bihar’s own Economic Survey.
In 2024, all government recruitment bodies combined — BPSC, BTSC, BPSSC, and CSBC — gave just over 2 lakh jobs. Even in the best recruitment year, that’s a fraction of what’s promised.
Bihar has around 2.9 crore families.
If every family were to get one government job, even at an average salary of ₹70,000 per month, the cost would be ₹29 lakh crore a year — while Bihar’s total budget is just ₹3.17 lakh crore.
The math simply doesn’t work.
But slogans do.
Cash Transfers Instead of Creation
Ahead of elections, Bihar’s government distributed nearly ₹19,000 crore directly into people’s accounts — about one-third of the state’s annual revenue.
Twenty-five lakh women received ₹10,000 each in a single day.
Does this create jobs? No.
It only buys time — and votes.
Maharashtra’s similar Ladki Bahin Yojana was exposed for paying 26 lakh ineligible people. Bihar seems to be repeating the same story: short-term appeasement instead of structural reform.
When Engineers Stay Silent
Thousands of engineers from Bihar work in Bengaluru, Delhi, London, and New York. They are building AI systems, managing IT infrastructure, and designing the algorithms shaping the future.
But where are their voices in Bihar’s debate on jobs?
Why aren’t they speaking up about how AI is transforming their industries — and what that means for their home state?
If the educated remain silent, caste and populism will continue to define Bihar’s economic narrative.
The Coming Storm
AI is no longer a distant threat.
According to NITI Aayog’s 2024 report, 20 lakh IT jobs in India may disappear soon — though 40 lakh new ones could emerge in AI and automation-related fields. The question is: who will be ready for them?
Most of Bihar’s youth are still preparing for clerical or low-level government jobs that may not even exist in a decade.
The global economy is shifting, but Bihar’s education and political systems are stuck in time.
Beyond Rhetoric: What Bihar Needs
If Bihar truly wants to prepare for the AI era, it must:
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Invest in skills, not slogans — AI literacy, data science, and vocational training.
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Build partnerships with tech companies, not just tech parks.
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Encourage local innovation — startups, agricultural AI, and small manufacturing automation.
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Empower universities to run industry-linked programs.
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Focus on transparency and execution, not just inauguration ceremonies.
Conclusion: The Missing Theme
This election in Bihar feels like an election without a theme.
Caste loyalties are being rearranged; old promises are being repackaged. But no one is asking the essential question: what kind of work will exist in the future, and who will have access to it?
When the world is discussing the ethics of AI and the economics of automation, Bihar is still debating who will get a government job.
That is the tragedy — and the warning.
If Bihar continues to debate the past while the world builds the future, the gap will only grow wider.
Namaskar,
I’m Ravish Kumar.
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