Maharashtra Survey pegs farm growth, industry dip

MAHARASHTRA CLOCKED an accelerated growth in 2016-17, according to the Economic Survey Report for 2016-17, which was presented in the state legislature on Friday. The report says the real gross state domestic product (GSDP) at constant (2011-12) market prices will be Rs 18.15 lakh crore — up 9.4 percentage points over 2015-16.

The state had clocked an 8.5per cent growth in the last fiscal.

While the government’s economic report is silent on the impact of demonetisation on output and consumption across sectors, a stunted growth projection for the industry sector gave it away. The sector’s overall growth rate slippedfrom7.5percentin201516 to a projected 6.7 per cent in 2016-17. The current year’s projected growth rate is also lower than the growth clocked in 201415 — 6.9 per cent. The mining and quarrying sub-sector dipped sharply from 4.3 per cent in 201516 to 0.5 per cent in 2016-17. The manufacturing sector decelerated from 9.3 per cent in 2015-16 to 8.4 per cent.

The Bjp-led government in the state will be happy at the projection of a double-digit positive growth for the farm sector, which provides livelihood to more than 58 per cent of the state’s population. Maharashtra’s rural economy, which has been on a downward spiral since 2014-15, rebounded on the back of a good monsoon in 2016-17 with a 12.5 per cent growth. “During the kharif season of 2016, production of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cotton increased by 80 pc, 187 pc, 142 pc and 83 pc respectively. Crop production rose significantly during the subsequent rabi season,” the report notes.