The economy of Himachal Pradesh has recovered from Covid crisis and the state’s GSDP as per advance estimates is set to grow at 8.3 per cent in 2021-22 as compared to minus 5.2 per cent in 2020-21, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday.
Tabling Economic Survey of 2021-22 in house on the sixth day of ongoing budget session, Thakur said the state’s economy as per advance estimates is expected to witness real growth of 8.3 per cent in 21-22 after contracting in 2020-21. In real terms, the increase in GSDP in pre-Covid and post-Covid era i.e. 2019-20 and 2021-22 is 2.7 per cent.
In several sectors of the economy, pre-pandemic levels of output have been crossed.
The nominal GDP at current prices is estimated at Rs 1,75,173 crore in 2021-22 as compared to 1,56,675 crore in 2020-21.
The per capita income is estimated at Rs 2.01 lakh in 2021-22 as compared to Rs 1.83 lakh in 2020-21, the CM said.
He stated that the agriculture and allied sectors have been least impacted by the pandemic and the sector is expected to grow by 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.
As per advance estimates the Gross Value Added ( GVA) of industry will rise by 11 per cent in 2021-22 after contracting by 6.6 per cent in 2020-21 .
The services sector has been the hardest hit by the pandemic and it is estimated to grow by 6.3 per cent during 2021-22 following last year’s 2.1 per cent negative growth.
The agriculture, allied and livestock sectors registered a negative growth of 8.6 per cent in 2020-21 with a GVA of Rs 9,930 crore as compared to Rs 10,870 crore for 2019-20. However, during 2021-22 a growth of 11.9 per cent has resulted due to an increase in horticulture production.
The manufacturing sector showed a growth of 11.3 per cent during 2021-22 against a negative growth rate of 7.3 per cent in 2020-21.
The mining and quarrying sector showed a negative growth of 3.2 per cent during 2021-22 as against minus 6.8 per cent in 2020-21.
As per the estimates for 2021-22, the GVA of secondary sector is estimated at Rs 55,089 crore against Rs 49,610 crore in 2020-21. The services sector has a significant and fast growing share and it is expected to grow by 6.3 per cent in 2021-22.
The tourism sector which is a mainstay of the state’s economy recorded a footfall of 9,60,952 tourists in 2021-22 which is being attributed to the opening of Atal Tunnel Rohtang and to Lahaul Spiti district.
The inflation has been moderate since 2014, Consumer Price Index-combined (CPI-C) inflation was 4.6 per cent in 2016-17 and 5.2 per cent in 2020-21 while in the months April-December, 2021, it has been recorded at 6.0 per cent.
The Covid pandemic put the health sector of Himachal to a great test and it has brought forth the infrastructure of the medical fraternity in effectively managing the spread of the disease. The state government’s efforts in handling the Covid pandemic has been appreciated at national level whether it was active case finding campaign or vaccination of the eligible population.
Himachal has achieved 2nd rank in overall ranking along with Tamil Nadu in current sustainable development goals. Good Governance Index has been closely related with SDGs in which the satte has been assessed top performer among North-East and other hill states, he added.