This book introduces the issues of the contemporary state of Bihar, India, in terms of its performance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicators and the initiatives taken by the central and state governments towards realizing human development. Doing so, it draws upon the mistakes committed in the past and moves ahead towards a better future with the idea of sustainable human development. The book also presents a comprehensive evaluation of the background and indicators of the human development index, and it analyses the impact of COVID-19 on India in general and on Bihar in particular.

India is a nation of unbalanced states in terms of development. In spite of all the development initiatives, India still contains states that have not conformed to the breakthrough claimed by the nation, and the state of Bihar falls under this category. Bihar has emerged as the worst performer in human development, based on the ranking of the Human Development Index 2020. Nevertheless, Bihar has the potential for overall development to achieve its glorious past once again, by various pro-poor policies implemented by the government of Bihar in the last two decades, which is critically analysed in detail.