Bihar Economic Survey (Ch-1)

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👉🏻Also Read|Bihar Economic Survey 2018-19 (Summary)

CHAPTER-I : BIHAR ECONOMY : AN OVERVIEW

According to the new series of data on Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the growth rate of Bihar’s economy in 2017-18 was 11.3 percent, increasing from 9.9 percent a year before.

  • First Bihar Agricultural Road Map was launched in 2008.
  • Second Bihar Agricultural Road Map was launched in 2012.
  • Third Bihar Agricultural Road Map was launched in 2017.

Demographic Profile

  • Bihar had a population of 104.1 million in 2011, which was about 8.6 percent of country’s total population of 1210.6 million.
  • In 2018, Bihar’s population is estimated to be about 122.0 million.
  • The density of population in Bihar (1106 persons per sq. km) is nearly three times higher than in India (382).
  • The level of urbanisation in Bihar: 11.3 % ; India (31.2 %)
  • Between 2001 and 2011, the decadal growth rate of population in Bihar was 25.1 percent, compared to the national average of 17.6 percent.
  • The number of towns in Bihar has increased from 130 in 2001 to 199 in 2011.
  • The increase in urbanisation in Bihar is far lower (0.8 percentage point) than the national average (3.4 percentage points).

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  • Highest decadal growth rate of population between 2001 and 2011: Madhepura (31.1%)
  • Lowest decadal growth rate of population between 2001 and 2011: Arwal (18.9%)
  • Lowest level of urbanisation: Samastipur (3.5%)
  • Highest level of urbanisation: Patna (43.1%)
  • Highest population density: Sheohar (1882 persons per sa. Km)
  • Lowest population density: Jamui (567 persons per sq.km)
  • In terms of population, Patna was the largest (58.4 lakhs), accounting for 5.6 percent of the state’s total population; at the other end, it was Sheikhpura (6.34 lakhs), accounting for only 0.6 percent of the state’s total population.

State Domestic Product

  • The Per Capita GSDP in 2017- 18 are — Rs. 42,242 (current prices) and Rs. 31,316 (constant prices).
  • In 2017-18, the Per Capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) in Bihar stood at Rs. 28,485 and it was 32.9 percent of the national average.

Sectoral Growth Rate

  • In 2017-18, the highest growth rate was recorded by tertiary sector (14.6 percent), followed by secondary sector (2.5 percent) and primary sector (1.4 percent).
  • From a medium term perspective, the sectors that are seen to grow at a faster rate and contribute most to the overall economy of Bihar are —

1. mining and quarrying (60.0 percent)

2. manufacturing (17.5 percent) and

3. TSCS (transport, storage, communications and services related to broadcasting) (11.4 percent)

  • Among the sub-sectors, air transport is seen to have grown at a very high rate of 35.2 percent.

Structural Change in Economy

  • The share of primary sector in Bihar’s economy was 25.8 percent in 2011-12, but in 2017-18, it had fallen to 20.2 percent. This decline of 5.6 percentage po ints within a period of only six years is indeed substantial.
  • The share of secondary sector in total output has again decreased from 18.8 percent in 2011-12 to 17.5 percent in 2017-18.
  • This actually reflects the limitations of the secondary sector in Bihar, particularly its size. It is obvious from this trend that additional demand for secondary sector products in Bihar is met from imports from other regions of the country.
  • The loss of share of output by primary and secondary sectors has obviously meant a steady rise in the share of output of the tertiary sector. This share was already high in 2011-12 (55.5 percent), but in 2017- 18, it has reached an even higher level (62.3 percent).
  • This trend is also observed for the Indian economy as a whole. However, this structural change is not accompanied by shifting of workforce or population from slowly growing primary sector to the fast-growing secondary or tertiary sectors, again both in Bihar and India as a whole.

Regional Disparity

  • Three most prosperous districts in Bihar are — Patna, Munger and Begusarai.
  • Three most economically disadvantaged districts are — Madhepura, Supaul and Sheohar.

Consumer Price Index

Recently, the Central Statistical Organisation has introduced a new series of price index, with 2011-12 as the base year. This series covers both Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI). The WPI is available only for India as a whole; but fortunately, CPI is available for all the states, along with the national average. Further, CPI is also estimated separately for the rural and urban areas.

  • The combined inflation rate has been the highest in Bihar (5.0 percent), while it was 3.3 percent for India as a whole (Oct 2017- Oct 2018).
  • In the rural areas, the inflation rate in Bihar (5.0 percent) has been the second highest (first West Bengal, 6.2), the national average being 2.8 percent.
  • For the urban areas, the inflation rate in Bihar (4.6 percent) has again been higher, compared to the national average (4.0 percent).

Population (2011 census)

  • Highest: Patna
  • Lowest: Sheikhpura

Sex Ratio (overall):

  • Highest: Gopalganj (1021)
  • Lowest: Munger (876)
  • Bihar: 918

Sex Ratio (child)

  • Highest: Kishanganj (971)
  • Lowest: Vaishali (904)
  • Bihar: 935

Density

  • Highest: Sheohar (1882)
  • Lowest: Jamui (567)
  • Bihar: 1106

Urbanisation

  • Highest: Patna (43.1)
  • Lowest: Samastipur (3.5), Banka (3.5)
  • Bihar: 11

Decadal Growth

  • Highest: Madhepura (31.1)
  • Lowest: Arwal (18.9)
  • Bihar: 25.4

👉🏻Also Read|Bihar Economic Survey 2018-19 (Summary)