THE OLD SETTLERS OF SIKKIM

What is positive for someone could often be exactly the opposite for someone else. Say for instance, a healthy person is bad news for the doctor. Ditto is the case of Bihar. After years of stagnation and illness, the state has been in the limelight for rapid economic growth in recent times. Great turnaround for Bihar! But as it turns out, this hasn't been too good a thing for real estate and infrastructure firms in other parts of the country. Why? The answer is simple. The state had been one of the biggest exporters of migrant labour to other states, comprising about 50% of the unskilled workers employed in these sectors across the country. Now thanks to increased government expenditure and private investment there, rural migration has fallen significantly, almost by 30% in recent years. This has not only caused labour shortage but has also pushed up wage costs for real estate companies. While the economic progress in Bihar bodes well for its people, the supply of chea p migrant labour to other places is set to decline.