HYDERABAD : Fifteen states and union territories saw economic activity contract in FY21 over FY20, a TNIE data analysis shows. So far, only 21 out of the 34 states and union territories have published data with the National Statistics Office. Of the 21, while 15 saw economic activity contract, six including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have posted positive growth notwithstanding the pandemic.
Meghalaya saw the sharpest contraction at 7.52%, followed by agrarian states of Punjab and Rajasthan, whose real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) shrunk by 6.63% and 6.61% respectively. Of the top 10 GDP contributing states, Maharashtra and Gujarat (ranked one and three based on FY20 data) are yet to publish data. Among the remaining eight, only two states namely Tamil Nadu and West Bengal saw positive growth at 1.42% and 1.6% respectively. The remaining six states saw economic activity shrink between 0.6% and 6.61%.
Among the six states that witnessed positive growth, Tripura turned in the highest growth rate at 3.96% as against 9.4% in FY20, followed by Sikkim, whose state output grew by 3.73% compared to 5.77%. The next best was by Bihar, whose economic activity grew by 2.52% in FY21 as against 7.41% growth in FY20. Other states include Tamil Nadu at 1.42% growth as against 6.13% a year before, while West Bengal saw 1.06% growth. J&K’s GSDP too grew by 0.53%.
Estimate of states’ output is an important indicator to measure economic development and to track sectoral shifts. The growth rates in key sectors and the pattern of investment indicate the trajectory of growth and investment targets. Among the large states, Uttar Pradesh, which registered a 6.36% contraction, saw the biggest setback in industrial activity, which shrunk 8.5% — the highest recorded by any state.
The next biggest decline of 6.9% within industries was recorded in Delhi, where agricultural activity too fell by a massive 17.23% — the sharpest decline seen by any other state. Despite the stringent nationwide lockdown during last April-June, agricultural activity remained in positive territory across the country.
Services activity was severely hit across states, barring few exceptions like the poll-bound states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which turned in positive growth, although the pace of growth was moderate at 1-2%.
Within services and industry, each state suffered sectoral setbacks. For instance in Andhra Pradesh, transport sector took the biggest hit contracting by a staggering 36%. Similarly, manufacturing and real estate in Karnataka declined by 5% each, while others like mining and quarrying too were hit.Interestingly, in Tamil Nadu some of the key sectors including manufacturing, construction, financial services and real estate all registered growth over last year, while in West Bengal, while manufacturing fell, construction and real estate grew in FY21. In Telangana, almost all key sectors including construction, trade, financial services and real estate saw moderate decline.