Bihar has turned from a migration mill to a merit hub. But where are the jobs?

Just a decade ago, Bihar’s young often dreamed of government jobs and railway clerks. Mass exodus for work were the norm.

Scandals were rampant too – in 2015, parents scaled walls to help children cheat , and in 2016, a board topper couldn’t answer basic questions.

Young people crammed onto Patna-bound trains clutching exam admission slips. Railway clerk and bank jobs were the dream, and coaching centres in Patna or Gaya the prep schools of ambition.

With few local industries, only a tiny fraction of graduates found jobs in-state, forcing families to send sons and daughters to distant factories and farms.

State data from that era tell the story: Bihar’s literacy lingered around 62% (far below India’s 73%), and nearly 40% of secondary students dropped out.

Today that story is shifti