BHUBANESWAR: Showing a continued surge, the state’s economy is estimated to grow at 8.5 per cent in 2023-24 in comparison to 7.9 per cent in 2022-23, surpassing the national growth rate of 7 per cent, said the Odisha Economic Survey report for 2023-24, tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday.
“The state is committed to expedite its growth and developmental effort to increase the per capita income and contribute to ‘Viksit Bharat’ goal of the country,” the report said.
It pointed out that the state’s per capita income (PCI) since 2015-16 has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1 pc but still ranks 11th among 17 major states. As per the advance estimate for 2023-24, the PCI of the state rose to Rs 1,61,437 in 2023-24 (AE), which is 12.4 pc less than the national per capita income of Rs 1,84,205. The PCI of the state was Rs 1,50,676 in 2022-23.
Notwithstanding the fact that multidimensional poverty headcount ratio in the state has declined from 29.3 pc in 2015-16 to 15.7 pc in 2019-21 and more than 62 lakh people escaped multidimensional poverty, Odisha still ranks 6th among the major 17 states with high incidence of poverty headcount, the report said.
The Economic Survey identified industry and service sectors as the major engines of economic growth in the state. The industry sector in Odisha is expected to grow at 8.7 pc in 2023-24 as per advance estimates contributing 43.2 pc to the Gross State Value Added (GSVA). The contribution of the services sector will be around 36 pc clocking a growth rate of 9.2 pc for the same period with an employment share of 26 pc of total workforce, said the report.
Since industrial activities in the state are concentrated mainly in basic metal and mineral-based industries, the report underscored diversification from mineral-based industries to other value-added industries.
While some IT companies have opened their domestic and global operations in Bhubaneswar, the report suggested the government to encourage more IT and ITeS companies to open their operation in Odisha, thereby increasing IT/software exports from the state.
It noted that tourism sector of Odisha has immense potential to contribute to the state’s economy. “Post Covid pandemic, the state is yet to recover in terms of tourist footfall. Therefore, the state needs to augment its investment in tourism infrastructure, making Odisha the top tourist destination state,” the report said.
On capital outlay, the state allocated nearly Rs 51,683 crore towards capital expenditure in 2023-24 (BE), which is 6.2 pc of GSDP. However, given the infrastructural gap prevalent in the state, the level of Capex spending is likely to increase in the coming years.
The agriculture and allied sectors which contributed 20.4 pc to the GSVA are estimated to grow by 3.5 pc in 2023-24. The state needs to take measures towards crop diversification to enhance productivity and farmer’s income, suggested the report.
Though the state happens to be the 5th largest rice producer in the country with 7 pc share in total rice production in India as of 2021-22, the yield of various crops in Odisha is lower than the national average. Rice yield in Odisha is 19 pc lower than all India level while there is 61 pc yield gap in case of pulses. There is a need to increase yield and improve efficiency to increase farmer’s income, the Economic Survey said.