The North Eastern states, including Sikkim, had outpaced the country when it came to growth in Per Capita Income (PCI) in the year 2009-10. The states of the region registered a collective growth rate of almost 10 per cent in their PCI in the fiscal 2009-10, as against the national growth rate of little above 6 per cent.
Though PCI, which is the quotient of income to the population size, of three states of North East were found to be well above the national average, still the PCI of region as a whole was behind the national average.
The PCI of the North Eastern states, barring Nagaland and Manipur (for which figures are not available), grew from Rs 29,488 in 2008-09 to Rs 32,419 in 2009-10. Which means an increase of Rs 2,931. Whereas, during the same period, the All India PCI grew from Rs 32,801 to Rs 33,731, an increase of Rs 1,930.
The average PCI of the North Eastern states was Rs 32,419 in 2009-10 as against the national average of Rs 33,731.
With a PCI of Rs 39,679, the remote and Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh is at the top of table among the North Eastern states, followed by Sikkim (Rs 36,075), Mizoram (Rs 35,323), Tripura (Rs 33,503), Meghalaya (Rs 29,656) and at the bottom is ironically Assam (Rs 20,279), since its economy is the largest in the region.
The average earning of the people of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram was above the national average, whereas those of Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam were below the national average. The growth in the PCI of Arunachal Pradesh has been the maximum, whereas that of Assam has been the least. From Rs 33,624 in 2008-09, the PCI of Arunachal Pradesh grew to Rs 39,679 in 2009-10. Whereas during the same period, Assam’s PCI income grew by just Rs 1,216, that is from Rs 19,063 to Rs 20,279.