By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 28 Feb: The Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2023-24 was today tabled in the House by Finance Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal. In the survey the government has claimed that the economy of the state has taken a huge leap. As per the survey, the growth rate of the state has increased to 7.58 percent, which was 7.03 percent in FY 2022-23. According to the survey, the size of the economy has increased to Rs 346.20 thousand crores in the year 2023-24, while in the previous year, the size of the economy was Rs 303.78 thousand crores.
Secondary Sector contributes the most
The Survey has also claimed that the Per Capita Income in Uttarakhand has also increased by 12.64 percent to become Rs 2.60 lakh per annum, while in 2022-23, the per capital income was Rs 2.31 lakh per annum. The survey points out that a clear boom has been seen in the secondary sector in Uttarakhand. The secondary sector has contributed the maximum 46.84 percent to the economy. The tertiary sector i.e. service sector has also contributed significantly to the state’s economy. The contribution of tertiary sector in the FY 2023-24 has been 43.17 percent to the economy. The role of the primary sector, i.e., agriculture remains relatively low in Uttarakhand at 9.99 percent.
Survey claims huge reduction in unemployment
The survey also claims a huge reduction in the unemployment rate in Uttarakhand. According to the survey, the unemployment rate in Uttarakhand was 8.4 percent in FY 2021-22, which has come down to 4.9 percent in FY 2022-23. There has also been a huge decline in multidimensional poverty. In FY 2015-16, the rate of multidimensional poverty in Uttarakhand was 17.67 percent, which came down to 9.67 percent in the year 2019-21. The target is to create 1,25000 Lakhpati Didis in Uttarakhand. Thus far, 68,579 Lakhpati Didis have been created so far.
The survey predicts that the per capita income is expected to rise by about 12.64 percent in the year 2023-24. This means that the per capita income in Uttarakhand might improve even more in the next year.
Some cause for concern
The survey also highlights some figures which are the cause of some concern. A major cause of concern is the disparity in growth rates in districts like Haridwar or Dehradun and the hill districts. According to the Economic Survey report, Haridwar district has the highest GDP in Uttarakhand. Haridwar’s GDP has been recorded at Rs 85,636 crore, while Rudraprayag district has the lowest GDP in the state. The GDP in Rudraprayag has been recorded at only Rs 2,838 crores. Even though the overall per capita income seems to be increasing, people are getting more benefits from it in the plains. In the hill districts the per capita income is not increasing in an equivalent ratio.
Revenue hike is satisfactory
There is good news regarding increase in revenue in Uttarakhand. The state is expected to record an increase of 9.63 percent in revenue during the financial year 2023-24. Similarly, from the establishment of the state till 2021, there has been an increase of 52 times in tax collection. At the formation of the state, there was a tax collection of Rs 233 crores, which has now become more than Rs 12,000 crores. On the other hand, it is estimated that tax collection of more than Rs 8,000 crore will be done in the year 2023-24 alone. This also includes central compensation.
