BHUBANESWAR: Even as the State economy has undergone a structural transformation with agriculture sector’s share steadily declining from 33 per cent (pc) in 1993-94 to 20.6 pc in 2021-22 and industry sector’s share getting doubled from 17 pc to 39.5 pc during the period, agriculture still employs the bulk of workers.
The Economic Survey Report of 2021-22 tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday indicated the share of agriculture and allied activities in Gross State Value Added (GSVA) in current prices is 20.6 pc with service sector share of 39.9 pc and industry sector share of 39.5 pc.
While the share in industry sector and agriculture and allied activities is above the national average of 28.2 pc and 18.8 pc, the State’s service sector share is lower than that of all India level of 53 pc.
However, notwithstanding the falling share of agriculture in GSVA, it still employs the bulk of the workers. As of 2019-20, 48.31 pc of the State’s total workforce is working in agriculture and allied activities.
The survey report claims the agriculture sector would continue to occupy a critical position in the State economy despite the growth in the industry sector.
“It is because Odisha has more mineral and metal-based industries which generate less employment. The growth in the agriculture sector may have come down due to calamities and declining interest of people on low-profit cultivation, people in rural areas that constitute around 80 pc of the population still depend on agriculture as their source of income,” said Secretary of Odisha Economics Association Amarendra Das.
The MSMEs are the growth accelerators of Odisha, a major contributor to total exports and an integral part of the supply chain. However, going by the number of MSMEs registered under Udyam in the State compared to other states, there is ample scope for further broad-based MSME units.
Around 44,273 MSME units were set up with an investment of Rs 1,887.79 crore in 2020-21 leading to employment generation for 1.19 lakh persons.
The figure is lower than that for the previous year indicating the recessionary impact of the pandemic-induced slowdown. Altogether 4,93,625 MSMEs have been established in Odisha with an investment of Rs 23,689.31 crore and employment of 18,11,316 persons till March 2021.
Interstate comparison of industrial growth in the pre-Covid times shows that the industrial sector in Odisha was among the fastest-growing sectors among major states. The sector grew at an average of 7.49 pc between 2012-13 and 2019-20. Only Haryana, Gujarat, and Bihar were the few states reporting higher growth in the industrial sector than Odisha.