Himachal’s growth rate for 2022-23 pegged at 6.4 per cent as compared to 7.6 per cent last year

Tribune News Service

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, March 16

Himachal Pradesh’s growth rate for the financial year 2022-23 has been pegged at 6.4 per cent as compared to 7.6 per cent last year, indicating a decline of 1.2 per cent.

This was revealed in the Economic Survey report tabled by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who also holds the Finance portfolio, in the Vidhan Sabha today.

Accordingto advance estimates, the Per Capita Income (PCI) at current price in 2022-23 is estimated at Rs 2.22 lakh (RS 2,22,227) against Rs 2.01 lakh (2,01,271) in 2021-22. This indicates a growth of 10.4 per cent against 13.1 per cent in 2021-22. The PCI of the hill state is more than the national PCI income for 2022-23 by Rs 51,607.

The GDP is estimated to attain a level of Rs 1,95,404 crore as against Rs 1,76,269 crore last year, exhibiting an increase of Rs 19,135 crore. The primary sector is likely to grow at a pace of 2 per cent at constant price with a rise to Rs 16,717 crore from Rs 16,395 crore.

The state's Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant price in 2022-23 is likely to attain a level of Rs 1,34,576 crore as against Rs 1,26,433 crore. The growth in nominal GDP is estimated at 10.9 as compared to 13.5 per cent in 2021-22.

The secondary sector, comprising of manufacturing, electricity, gas and water supply and construction is expected to register a growth of 7.2 per cent as the advance estimates are expected to rise from Rs 56,408 crore to Rs 60,444 crore.

The services sector has registered a significant growth of 6.9 per cent as the advance estimates for 2022-23 is estimated at Rs 49,527 crore as against Rs 46,350 crore.

One major bright spot in the Economic Survey is the sharp increase in tourist arrivals from 56.37 lakh in 2021 to 150.99 lakh in 2022. The tourism sector was the worst hit during the Covid pandemic and the tourist arrivals had miserably fallen to 32.13 lakh in 2020. The construction sector is expected to register the highest growth rate of 9.5 per cent in this financial year.

The industrial sector, which is crucial for boosting the state’s economy, is expected to grow by 7.1 per cent with the national industrial growth being4.1 per cent. The manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 6.7 per cent, which is the third highest growth rate in the sector.

The Economic Survey also indicates that the growth rate in the agriculture and allied sectors has registered a decline from 4.9 per cent last year to 2 per cent at constant price. The report also indicates that the unemployment under usual status for all age groups in Himachal is the lowest at 4.0 per cent as compared to Uttarakhand (7.8%), Punjab (6.4%) and Haryana (9%).

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