Odisha’s growth rate beats national average

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has registered a gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth rate of 7.94 per cent in 2016-17 against the national average of 7.1 per cent, besides registering a big reduction in poverty.

The data came from the Odisha Economic Survey, 2016-17, which was placed in the Assembly by finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat Saturday.

Odisha’s real per capita income rose from Rs 47,632 in 2011-12 to Rs 61,678 in 2016-17 at 2011-12 prices, the report said. Over the same period, India’s per capita income grew 6.5 per cent to Rs 81,805 from Rs 77,524.

Though Odisha’s economy has been on a high-growth trajectory in recent years, the state lagged behind the national average for decades in the past. From 2003, the state registered growth of above eight per cent as against the national average of 7.5 per cent. However, the contribution of manufacturing sector to the state’s growth has declined to 18.27 per cent in 2016-17 from 19.19 per cent in 2015-16.

With iron, steel and non-ferrous metals contributing 72 per cent to manufacturing, the gross value stood at Rs 63,695 crore.

The service sector contributed 43.53 per cent to the GSDP and the sector is expected to grow 8.08 per cent in 2016-17, the report said. On poverty reduction, the report said about 82 lakh poor people moved up from below poverty line in eight years.

“Poverty in Odisha has declined by 24.61 per cent (average annual decline of 3.52 per cent) from 57.20 per cent in 2004-05 to 32.59 per cent in 2011-12, the highest reduction among major states,” it said.

India recorded 15 per cent (average annual decline of 2.14 per cent) poverty reduction during the same period, the report said. Poverty reduced by 25.11 per cent and 20.31 per cent points in rural and urban Odisha, respectively, as against 16 per cent and 12 per cent for India.

Among the regions, the report said that northern region has registered the highest reduction of poverty with 30.53 per centage followed by the southern region (25.40 per cent) and the coastal region (19.95 per cent) between 2004-05 and 2011-12.