India, Sept. 19 -- Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an airport in Purnea in the poll-bound state of Bihar. While new airports being opened these days are pretty common, the fact that the latest one is in Purnea makes for an interesting coincidence for a political economy column by a Bihari.

That Purnea has finally got an airport - it was being demanded for a long time and even the pro-Congress MP was more than happy to share the stage with the Prime Minister during the function - suggests that the place has a reasonable number of people who can afford to travel by air. Purnea otherwise is one of the poorest districts in all of India. According to the 2019-21 National Family and Health Survey's district-wise ave...