VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has left other States far behind in fish production. In the Economic Survey 2020 released Friday, AP with 34,49,560 tonnes (28,44,610 tonnes of inland fish and 6,04,950 tonnes of marine fish) of fish production in 2017-18 fiscal topped the chart. West Bengal came a distant second with 17,42,090 tonnes of fish production. The total fish production in the country stood at 1,25,90,280 tonnes. No other State had crossed 9,00,000 tonnes mark in fish production. Gujarat with the largest coastline in the country, stood third with a fish production at 8,34,530 tonnes. Odisha with 6,84,960 tonnes and Tamil Nadu with 6,81,940 tonnes of fish production got fourth and fifth places.
According to the statistics provided by the Department of Fisheries for the Economic Survey, AP has emerged a clear winner. Its growth in fish production from around 20,00,000 tonnes in 2013-14 to 34,49,560 tonnes in 2017-18 could be described as the fastest among the States. West Bengal recorded an increase in fish production from around 15,00,000 tonnes to 17,42,090 tonnes over a period of five years. The growth of fish production of other States over a period of five years was marginal. AP also emerged as one of the frontrunners in the country in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN as it stood second in the country in the recovery of forest area in 2019 compared to 2017. As per the assessment in 2019, the total forest cover of the country is 7,12,249 sq km, which is 21.67 per cent of the total geographic area.
There has been an increase of 3,976 sq km (0.56 per cent) of forest cover, 1,212 sq km (1.29 per cent) of tree cover and 5,188 sq km (0.65 per cent) of forest and tree cover put together at the national level compared to the previous assessment in 2017.AP stood second in the country by recording an increase of 990 sq km of forest cover, while Karnataka with an increase of 1,025 sq km of forest cover topped the list. Kerala with 823 sq km and Jammu and Kashmir with 371 sq km of forest cover got fourth and fifth places.
When it comes to growth in the service sector, AP’s share in Gross State Value Added (GSVA) in 2018-19 stood at 43 per cent. Among 33 States and Union Territories, AP stood at 23rd place. Its neighbour Telangana stood at the sixth place with 64.7 per cent of service sector share in GSVA in 2018-19.
However, if the service sector 5-year average growth is taken into consideration, AP stood third with 9.8 per cent, while Telangana with 11.2 per cent and Karnataka with 10.5 per cent got the two top positions.
Visakhapatnam Port, one among the 13 major ports in the country, has achieved an impressive growth. Average Ship Turnaround time, which is a key indicator of the efficiency of the ports sector, has improved significantly. From 5.84 days in 2010-11, it improved to 2.51 days in 2018-19.
2nd for recording an increase in forest cover
AP stood second in the country by recording an increase of 990 sq km of forest cover, while K’taka with an increase of 1,025 sq km of forest cover topped the list. Kerala with 823 sq km and J&K with 371 sq km of forest cover got fourth and fifth places