Bhubaneswar: The state’s economy registered a growth rate of 8.4 per cent in the financial year 2018-19 whereas it showed 7.4 per cent in 2017-18, says the Economic Survey Report presented for 2018-19 fiscal.
“Odisha has witnessed a high economic growth in 2018-19. The growth of state’s real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has been projected at 8.4 per cent in 2018-19 fiscal which is higher than the preceding fiscal (2017-18 ) that stood at 7.4 per cent,” the report said.
The state government claimed a growth over a five-year period. The figures show that Odisha on an average has grown at a faster rate than states such as Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The average monthly household income in farm sector has increased to Rs 7,731 in 2016-17 from Rs 4,976 in 2012-13. Inflation in 2018-19 was 2.9 per cent, which is lower than all India average, implying greater purchasing power, it said.
According to the report uploaded on official website of Planning and Convergence department, Odisha’s Gross State Value Added (GSVA) grew at 7.9 per cent as compared to 7.3 per cent in 2017-18. In registered manufacturing sector, wages and emoluments constitute 40 per cent of total GSVA in 2016-17 as compared with 24.7 per cent in 2006-07.
The state’s agriculture and allied activities has experienced a growth of 8.3 per cent in the last fiscal in comparison to 8.2 per cent in 2007-18. The farm sector contributed 18.9 per cent of GSVA in 2018-19.
As per the report, industrial sector comprised 39.5 per cent of Gross State Value Added in 2018-19 AE (Advanced Estimates) as compared to 29.8 per cent at all India level. The growth rate of this sector witnessed a growth rate of 9.3 per cent, which is largely because of a significant share of mining in Odisha.
Manufacturing sector constitutes over 18 per cent in state’s GVA and the sector is estimated to grow at 15.8 per cent in 2018-19. Service sector is the largest contributing sector to state’s economy at 41.6 per cent. In 2018-19, the sector is expected to grow at 6.2 per cent, it said.
However, state’s telecom and mobile connectivity is still below the national average. Wireless tele-density of Odisha was 79.58 as compared to national average of 91.09 as in March 2018. Out of 51,311 villages in the state, 11,000 villages do not have mobile connectivity till 2016-17. The density of rail route in Odisha is
only 16-km against other states’ average of 20 km.
The report claims that Odisha has witnessed a strong growth in per capita income. In 2018-19, state’s per capita income (in real terms) is expected to be Rs 75,796 from Rs 70,799 in 2017-18. The per capita income of the state has grown by Rs 28,000 in the last seven years.
The unemployment rate in the state in 2017-18 was 7.1 per cent while the same was 6.1 per cent for India. The unemployment rate was higher in urban areas (8.4 per cent) as compared to rural areas (6.9 per cent).
