Solan tops in per capita income

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, July 1

Being virtual industrial hub of the state, Solan district has been ranked number one both in terms of district wise per capita income as well as the contribution to the gross state domestic product (GSDP).

The Department of Economic and Statistics compiled the District Domestic Product (district Income) of Himachal Pradesh from 2011-12 to 2015-16. The economic position and level of development in all districts of Himachal Pradesh is not the same as some districts are more economically developed than others.

The contribution of four districts to the GSDP is more than 62 per cent during 2015-16. Solan, which has a strong industrial base, has the highest domestic product and contributes about 24.67 per cent, followed by Kangra district at 13.76 per cent, Shimla 13.74 per cent and Mandi 10.15 per cent. The area of these districts put together is 30 per cent of the total area of the state.

On the contrary, Lahaul Spiti (0.68 per cent), Kinnaur (2.06 per cent), Hamirpur (4.83 per cent) and Bilaspur (4.96 per cent) contributed a mere 13 per cent to the GSDP during 2015-16 despite the fact that collectively they cover 40 per cent of the total area of the state.

Per capita income is another major indicator of economic well being of an area or its people. As far as the district wise per capita income for the year 2015-16 is concerned, Solan again tops the list as it has the highest per capita income of Rs 3,94,102, followed by Kinnaur at Rs 2,17,993 and Rs 1,19,231 for Lahaul Spiti.

Kangra, which ranked second in contribution to district domestic product, was placed at the last place in per capita income at Rs 86,637. The state income increased from Rs 14,112 crore in 1999-2000 to Rs 10,9440 crore in 2017-18 at constant prices and to Rs 1,35,914 crore in 2017-18 at current price. The per capita income at current prices increased from Rs 20,806 In 1999-2000 to Rs 1,58,462 in 2017-18.

When Himachal Pradesh came into being as a state of the Indian Union on April 15, 1948, the state was underdeveloped with income unevenly distributed across regions. An explicit government objective was to have a more egalitarian society, coupled with balanced development of different regions. The major tasks before the state were to increase the rate of growth and to reduce inequality in income and wealth. Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a leading economy in the country and is also a leader in Hill Area Development, Agriculture and Horticulture revolution.