Odisha growth rate slows down to 5.6% in FY14

Fall in agricultural output due to Phailin affected GSDP, says govt

Economic growth rate in Odisha lagged behind in 2013-14 at 5.6 per cent, compared with 8.09 per cent recorded in 2012-13, said the state Economic Survey for the last fiscal. It said, the negative growth rate in the farm sector affected the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

“The slowdown in growth of the state economy during 2013-14 may be attributed to the negative growth rates of (-0.85 per cent) of primary sector in general and (-3.25 per cent) under the agricultural sub sector in particular,” said the survey report, which was tabled in the assembly today ahead of the budget proposals for 2014-15.

The primary sector of an economy is the sector that makes direct use of natural resources such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and extraction of oil and gas. Manufacturing sector is tagged as secondary sector while services has been placed as the third most important factor for an economy. Farm output of Odisha dropped significantly in the last financial year due to very severe cyclone Phailin and affected the growth rates of GSDP, the government said.

“Though the state experienced a modest increase in the total food grain production during 2013-14, yet a very high growth rate in agricultural production during the previous year 2012-13 had a neutralising effect and put agricultural sector in negative margin,” the survey said.

This apart, decelerated industrial growth had a denting impact on the economy. During 2013-14, the sector grew at a rate of 6.6 per cent, lower than 9.1 per cent achieved in 2012-13. “Relatively slower growth rate of infrastructure sub-sectors like power (4.9 per cent) and construction (3.6 per cent) and other services sub sectors (4.03 per cent) may have also added to the modest growth rate in GSDP in 2013-14,” the report, prepared by the state planning and coordination department, said.

During the last fiscal, the services sector, which includes income from hotel, tourism, transportation and restaurants, grew at a rate of 7.8 per cent, outpacing its previous growth rate of 6.8 per cent seen in 2012-13. Services sector has the largest share in the economy with a contribution of 59.02 per cent, followed by industry at 25.4 per cent and agriculture and allied sector contributing 15.58 per cent to GSDP.

The key sub-sectors that were responsible for driving the economy in 2013-14 were manufacturing (8.19 per cent), transport,storage and communication (12.75 per cent), banking and insurance (12.13 per cent) and public administration (11.83 per cent). The per capita income of Odisha during 2013-14 is estimated at Rs 25,891, which is higher by 1.87 per cent from the previous year. Major contribution to state GSDP came from industrial rich Sundergarh district (8.54 per cent) followed by Khurda (7.52 per cent). Trade hub such as Cuttack and Ganjam both secured third position with each contributing 7.09 per cent.