Patna, March 22 (IANS) The first-ever 'Bihar Divas' celebrations were Monday inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the presence of hundreds of people at the Gandhi Maidan here.

Speaking after inaugurating the three-day celebrations, Nitish Kumar said Bihar will be a developed state by 2015 with a high growth rate.

'We have targeted achieving an annual growth rate of 15 percent in next five years and overall development in the state,' he said.

He also referred to the latest Bihar economic survey for 2009-10 which said the state's economy registered an annual growth rate of 11.35 percent over a five-year period from 2004-05 to 2008-09. It was only 3.5 percent per year in the previous five years.

The chief minister also announced that the state government will provide karate training to 16 lakh girl students. He also announced free bicycles for boy students, as were distributed to girl students earlier.

The state government has declared a public holiday to mark the day. 'All government offices, including banks, will be closed to mark the celebration,' said an official in the chief minister's office.