Bihar Budget 2022: State grew better than national average, says economic survey report

The report stated that agriculture and allied industries grew at a rate of 2.1 per cent in the state over the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).

The 16th Bihar Economic Survey Report (ESR) year 2021-22 has revealed that the state's growth rate has been better than the national average.

The report stated that agriculture and allied industries grew at a rate of 2.1 per cent in the state over the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).

Tarkishore Prasad, Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, tabled the 16th state ESR on Friday in the Legislative Assembly ahead of the Budget. 

The report noted that Bihar's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) increased by 2.5 per cent in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19-caused lockdown. However, this result is better than the national average, as the Indian GDP shrank by 7.2% in 2020-21. After comparing Bihar and the Indian economy in the medium term (2011-12 to 2020-21), it is observed that they have grown at the same rate. 

At current prices, the per capita income in Bihar was Rs 50,555 in 2020-21, compared with India at Rs 86,659, as per the ESR.

The report further added in the last five years (2016-17 and 2020-21), Bihar's primary sector had grown at 2.3 per cent, the secondary sector at 4.8 per cent, and the tertiary sector had risen to 8.5 per cent, the highest of all. 

The primary sector includes all economic activities that directly use natural resources such as mining, forestry, fishing, etc. 

In the secondary sector, manufacturing and processing add value to natural resources, i.e., cotton is converted into cloth.

The tertiary sector aids in developing the primary and secondary sectors, viz transportation or other services.

According to the ESR, 2020-21 was a challenging year for state finances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The document read that the state government responded to the challenges by best using its fiscal resources. The state government's overall expenditure in 2020-21 rose by 13.4 per cent over the previous year to Rs 1,65,696 crore, of which Rs 26,203 crore as capital expenditure and Rs 1,39,493 crore as revenue expenditure.  

The report added agriculture occupies a very crucial space in Bihar's economy.

The memo also read that the growth in agriculture and allied sectors has been steady in the state of Bihar. In 2019-20, the Gross Cropped Area was 79.97 lakh hectares, with a cropping intensity of 144 per cent. In the last five years, agriculture and allied sectors grew at a pace of 2.1 per cent. About the sub-sectors, livestock and fisheries have grown up to 10 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. Adding the industrial development in Bihar has been promising in recent years.

The 2011 census states that the level of urbanisation in Bihar was extremely low at 11.3 per cent.

However, post the state government decided to redefine an urban centre, the current urbanisation status in Bihar now stands at 15.3 per cent, which indicates an appreciable expansion. Also, the per capita consumption of energy increased from 203 kWh in 2014-15 to 350 kWh in 2020-21, showing a growth of 72.4 per cent in the coming six years, as per the report.