State's growth pegged at 9.5%

Tribune News Service

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, March 10

The economy of Punjab appears to have taken the path of swift growth, as its gross state domestic product (GSDP) is estimated to be Rs 6,98,635 crore for the 2023-24 financial year, an increase of 9.5 per cent over 2022-23.

Although the agriculture sector’s share in Gross State Value Added (GSVA) has declined over the years, the sector continues to be a driving force

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Urban Estate on 1,600 acres: The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority is developing a new urban estate on 1,600 acres at Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar for the development of residential, commercial and industrial plots.

Presenting the state Budget for 2023-24 on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “As per advance estimates, the GSDP of Punjab for the current year stood at Rs 6,38,023 crore, an increase of 9.24 per cent over the previous year — 2021-22. The GSDP for the state is estimated to be Rs 6,98,635 crore for 2023-24.”

Five new horticulture estates

A major boost is being given to development of horticulture. Five new horticulture estates are being set up in Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Bathinda and Faridkot. A risk mitigation fund for horticulture crops — Bhav Antar Bhugtan Yojana — too has been announced, along with a new scheme to promote floriculture.

New Medical colleges to come up

Two new medical colleges with 100 MBBS seats each, at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur, are being set up at a cost of Rs 422 crore and Rs 412 crore, respectively. The government will spend Rs 43 crore on setting up seven new maternal and child care hospitals. State Cancer Institute in Amritsar and Cancer Care Centre in Fazilka are expected to start soon.

Young Entrepreneur Programme

The government has earmarked Rs 30 crore for the Punjab Young Entrepreneur Programme to encourage Class XI students to pursue original business ideas. The government will provide “seed money” of Rs 2,000 per student. The government has earmarked Rs 18 crore for providing pre-matric scholarships to OBC students and Rs 60 crore to SC students.

The GSDP is a measure in monetary terms, the sum total volume of all finished goods and services produced during a given period. Although the agriculture sector’s share in the gross state value added (GSVA) has declined over the years, the sector remains a driving force. It still plays a dominant role in the state GSDP in comparison to the all-India contribution of 18.11 per cent.

Services sector top contributor

According to the Finance Minister, the contribution from the services sector remains the highest at 45.91% followed by agriculture and allied sector at 28.94% and industries at 25.15% in the GSDP of Punjab in 2022-23.

According to the Punjab Economic Survey, 2022-23, agriculture and allied sectors are a source of livelihood for 25.5 per cent of the working population, which is less than the sector’s share in Punjab’s GSVA. This is a result of high levels of mechanisms of agriculture practices in the state.

However, going forward, crop cultivation, especially that of wheat and rice, hitherto in the vanguard, is unlikely to be the source of growth. Instead, crop diversification and greater dependence on the “allied sector” is likely to be the way forward. The sector is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent in 2022-23 (advance estimates — A) after a negative growth of 2.7 per cent in 2021-22 (quick estimates — Q). Farmers in Punjab seem to be cognizant of this, as the share of livestock has seen an increase in the sector GSVA in recent years, as per the survey.

The industrial sector constitutes around 25 per cent of the GSVA with expected growth of 4 per cent in 2022-23, with manufacturing as the leading sub-sector. The services sector has seen a surge in its share in the gross value added. The share of the services sector grew from 43 per cent in 2011-12 to 46 per cent in 2022-23 (A).

The per capita income of Punjab stood at Rs 1,73,873 at current prices in the 2022-23 fiscal (A) registering a growth of 7.4 per cent. The per capita income of Punjab is higher than the national average of Rs 1,70,620.

LEADER SPEAK

No word on Rs 1K for women

This Budget has shattered dreams of the masses. The government will add another Rs 2,00,000 crore to debt. AAP has failed to provide Rs 1,000 per month to women above 18 years of age.

Partap Singh Bajwa, leader of opposition

Just Rs 135 cr from mining

Though AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal ensured to generate Rs 20,000 crore revenue from sand mining, they could earn just Rs 135 crore in the past one year.

Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, PCC chief

Staring at bankruptcy

The debt has increased by Rs 42,181 crore. An outstanding debt to GSDP ratio of 46.81 per cent suggests that the state is heading towards financial bankruptcy.

Sukhbir Badal, Chief, SAD

Nothing for farmers

This Budget offers no hope for economic recovery. There is nothing substantial for the farming community or employees. The state is heading towards bankruptcy.

Tarun Chugh, general secretary, BJP

Emphasis on edu, health

The AAP government has laid emphasis on education, health and agriculture sectors. An amount of Rs 231 cr has been proposed for employment generation & skill development.

Vikramjit Sahney, MP, AAP

QUICK NOTES

Development of cities top priority: Minister

Minister for Local Government Inderbir Singh Nijjar said in view of increasing urbanisation, development of cities had been given top priority in the Budget. He said a provision of Rs 6,596 crore had been kept in the Budget for local government and urban development. He said Rs 1,149 crore for Amrut, Rs 425 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), Rs 460 crore for the surface water supply (Ludhiana and Amritsar), Rs 412 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Rs 250 crore for the Punjab Municipal Development Fund and Rs 5 crore had been earmarked for strengthening the existing Bus Rapid Transit System, Amritsar. TNS

Rs 1,000 crore for crop diversification

Among several initiatives for crop diversification, an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore has been made. This money will be used to create a revolving market intervention fund for basmati crop, 33 per cent subsidy on cotton seeds and a track-and-trace mechanism to ensure that only good quality seeds are used, promoting moong cultivation and incentivising direct seeding of rice (DSR). Last year, 30,312 farmers were given an incentive of Rs 1,500 per acre for DSR. The government has said 2,574 ‘Kisan Mitras’ are to be engaged to provide extension services in each village. To check stubble burning, Rs 350 crore has been set aside for in-situ stubble management. TNS

Rs 57 crore for terminal at Halwara airbase

The government has proposed Rs 57 crore for the development of a terminal building in the civil enclave at the Halwara Air Force Station for undertaking scheduled commercial operations. Stating this in his Budget speech, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said the work was expected to be completed by May and flight operations were expected to commence by December 2023. He said keeping in mind new opportunities and the large Punjabi diaspora, the construction of the second phase of the terminal building at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali was under consideration. TNS

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