This story is from February 17, 2020

Odisha economy expected to grow at 6.16 per cent in 2019-20

The economy of Odisha is expected to grow at 6.16 per cent in 2019-20 as compared to 7.90 per cent in 2018-19 according to the Odisha Economic Survey: 2019-20 released on Monday.
Odisha economy expected to grow at 6.16 per cent in 2019-20
BHUBANESWAR: The economy of Odisha is expected to grow at 6.16 per cent in 2019-20 as compared to 7.90 per cent in 2018-19 according to the Odisha Economic Survey: 2019-20 released on Monday.
The survey report said that the state’s economy exceeds the national growth as India’s GDP growth for the current financial year is estimated at 5 per cent.
The 1.74 per cent decline in the growth rate compared to last year’s figure is attributed mainly to lower agriculture production in Odisha due to cyclone and deceleration in mining and manufacturing sector.
The state has witnessed severe cyclone Fani that has damaged agriculture crop of around 1.81 lakh hectares. Another cyclone Bulbul had also partial affected the state in November.
The per-capita income of Odisha in 2019-20 is expected to reach Rs 1.01 lakh, an increase from Rs 95,164 in 2018-19, the survey pointed out.
While service sector continues to be the largest contributor to state’s gross value added (GVA) with 40.51 per cent, share of industries sector is estimated at 39.60 per cent. The agriculture and allied sector contributes around 19.90 per cent.
Though the survey report has no specific mention about state’s aspiration to become a $1 trillion economy in the next 10 years, the survey said the state government has been taking numerous measures to harness the state’s potential in manufacturing sector, which is key for growth of economy.

“The state aspires to be the industrial gateway for eastern region of India. Make in Odisha (state’s biennial investment summit) and reforms under ease of doing business are some of the examples through which the state endeavors to attract private investment and boost industry sectors’ growth,” said the survey.
In July 2019, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had released a vision report titled Economic possibilities for Odisha towards a $1 trillion-dollar economy, which was jointly prepared by JSW Group and PwC India.
With huge natural resources reserve, state government now focusses on investment-friendly policies, infrastructure connectivity and creating skilled manpower.
“Though one trillion-dollar economy is an idealistic target, it is premature now to comment whether the state is on track as a lot of factors are responsible for it. Growth of global and national economy is also responsible for it. We can only say that the state government has been trying hard to bring investment by creating a conducive business ecosystem,” said Samson Maharana, a retired economic professor.
As around 70 per cent people of the state depend on agriculture sector, the survey report said the state has emphasized on crop diversification that aims to agriculture sector and helps in increasing income of farmers. “Odisha is slowly moving towards production of high value crops. The share of cropped area under vegetable, fruits, oil seeds, pulses has increased from 42.37 per cent in 2014-15 to 43.79 per cent in 2018-19,” the survey said.
Odisha has also seen high inflation of 3.8 per cent in 2019-20 (till December) while the average annual inflation in the state during 2017-18 to 2018-19 was around 2 per cent to 3 per cent. The inflation is mainly due to supply constraints.
The survey report also pointed out that share of non-food consumption has increased by around 10 per cent in both rural and urban areas, which indicates the economy well being of people.
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