Bihar is set for a bumper paddy crop during the current kharif season following recent spells of heavy rainfall throughout the state. The state Agricultural Production Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sinha told AIR that the area under paddy cultivation in the state has gone up by 50 percent as compared to last year. The paddy acreage has increased to 35 lakh hectares this year against 24 lakh hectares in last year. AIR Patna correspondent reports that the state government has introduced System Rice Intensification (SRI ) in a mission mode to increase paddy production. SRI is a unique technique which doubles paddy production and used in places with scanty rainfall.