M.P. Tops in GDP

Madhya Pradesh outpaced all the major states to top the economic growth charts with a scorching 11 per cent growth in 2013-14 — a year when India recorded its second successive year of sub-5 per cent growth in the gross domestic product.
What is noteworthy is that high growth in Madhya Pradesh has happened despite the state’s industrial growth slipping to a new low during the year. Led by largely an agricultural boost and expansion by the services sector, Madhya Pradesh’s surge to the top has forced Bihar — which had been topping the growth charts in the last few years — to the third spot, with Uttarakhand moving up to second place.
If the growth rates of states during the last three years are to be taken into consideration, while Bihar continues to lead the charts with an over 11 per cent average growth rate, Madhya Pradesh is clearly the most consistent performer, having progressively improved its performance with every passing year and managing an average growth of 10.2 per cent during these three years.
This is a period when national gross domestic product or GDP went into a tailspin and is still to recover from it.
This three-year period is also when states such as Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Karnataka appear to have faltered somewhat on the growth impetus.
While Gujarat has been a consistent performer at close to 8 per cent average growth, those showing a sharp improvement in their state domestic product growth, besides Madhya Pradesh, include Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
According to CSO data, Madhya Pradesh’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) registered a double-digit growth of 11.08 per cent at constant prices, up from 9.9 per cent in 2012-13. In March 2014, its GSDP stood at Rs 2,38,530 crore.
The state has been showing a strong growth of above nine per cent since 2009-10, most of it on account of a high growth in the agriculture and allied sector, supplemented by a modest growth in the services sector.
Growth rates in these two sectors have helped compensate for the sluggish industrial performance in the state. Industrial sector in the state has been seeing subdued growth since 2009, expanding by only 2.1 per cent in 2013-14, down from 5.5 per cent in 2012-13.
This, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy, is in contrast to all the major states, which are seeing a decline in the share of agriculture and allied sector in their GSDP.
Madhya Pradesh now ranks second highest in foodgrain production in the country, only after Uttar Pradesh, while non-food crops, especially oilseeds, also showed encouraging growth. The growth in agriculture is largely being attributed to the additional irrigation facilities created in the state in the last three years.
In 2013-14, the GDP — a measure of the value of goods and services produced in the country — grew by 4.7 per cent. The economy had grown 4.5 per cent in 2012-13, with growth being hit by high inflation, high interest rates and poor industrial sector growth.