Indian States at a Glance 2008-09: Performance, Facts and Figures presents information on the 29 states and 6 union territories of India in a set of 22 volumes. A compilation of the latest facts and figures, ranging from the basic socio-economic and demographic indicators to development parameters, these books also provide brief profiles of the states covering their history, culture, cuisine, handicrafts, places of tourist interest as well as an account of their performance vis-à-vis other states

Bihar, a state with a glorious tradition in Indian history, has tremendous growth and development challenges to overcome. It has the third largest population in the country, comprising 8.08 per cent of India’s total population. The division of the state in 2000 led to its southern districts becoming a part of a new state, Jharkhand. This has compounded the problems for Bihar as those southern districts were rich in mineral resources and hosted a large portion of the industrial establishments. With agriculture affected by floods caused by monsoons, and hardly any diversified activity in the secondary and tertiary sectors, growth in this state has a tendency toward great annual fluctuations. The state lags behind on all human development indicators; it is a state that has tremendous potential to be exploited, given the right kind of governance.