NEW DELHI // Bihar's chief minister, Nitish Kumar, who runs India's poorest and one of its most corrupt regions, announced a novel bid to tackle endemic poverty: taking the state's bureaucrats out of governing.
His administration placed advertisements in newspapers this week, seeking a team of professionals to manage an annual budget equivalent to Dh4.77 billion for programmes involving job creation, housing, infrastructure and microfinance.
In Bihar, a state of 103 million people in eastern India at the heart of a nationwide battle with Maoist guerrillas who draw support from impoverished peasants, a third of the population live in poverty, the World Bank says.
Santhosh Mathew, 50, the government official in charge of setting up the programme, said: "We are in the process of creating a new Bihar, and we are looking for people who want a challenge. There will be no back-seat driving" from government officials. The state government will aim to set up the agency by December, recruiting 32 people with a background in economic development. Bihar is hoping to lure talent from international bodies such as the World Bank and the United Nations, according to Mr Mathew.
Since Mr Kumar was elected in 2005, Bihar's fortunes have improved. The economy expanded 14.2 per cent in the year to March 2011, the fastest among India's states, according to government figures. Rates of robbery, kidnapping and murder have fallen, removing a stigma of lawlessness. In a state where caste and class allegiances had for more than a decade determined voting patterns, his government was returned to power in November by prioritising development.
Shaibal Gupta, the secretary of the Patna, Bihar-based Asian Development Research Institute, said: "Theoretically this is not a bad idea, taking certain schemes outside the government structure and outsourcing it to private hands." It is no guarantee of success though, he said
In India, government-run programmes seeking to alleviate poverty are ridden by corruption. About two-thirds of the subsidised food intended for the poor fails to reach its target, according a report by the World Bank in May. Bihar has the lowest annual per-capita income of India's 32 states and territories at 16,000 rupees (Dh1,240), according to a parliamentary reply in February.
Bihar was among the Indian states where people faced an "alarming level" of corruption in accessing government services, according to a 2008 study by Transparency International India and the New Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
