Bihar FY17 growth rate at 10.3%, tops national average

Bihar clocked a growth rate of 10.3 per cent in 2016-2017 as against 7.5 per cent in the corresponding fiscal a year ago, riding largely on the back of the services sector, according to the latest Economic Survey tabled in the state Assembly on Monday.
 

Bihar's growth rate is higher than that of the national average of 7.0 per cent, the 12th Economic Survey of Bihar said.

The state has consistently been revenue surplus, which increased from Rs 5,101 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 10,819 crore in 2016-17, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi told reporters after tabling the survey on the first day of the Budget Session.

The surplus, projected to be Rs 14,556 crore during 2017-18, is considered to be the result of better financial management, Sushil Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio, said.

The Gross Financial Deficit (GFD) of the state government rose by Rs 4,418 crore in 2016-17 over the previous year, compared to an increase of Rs 883 crore in 2015-16, he said and added that the GFD is projected to grow to Rs 18,112 crore in the current fiscal.

On borrowings, he said the total debt in 2016-17 was Rs 21,577 crore.

The minister said the agriculture sector has witnessed a growth rate of 6.9 per cent in 2016-17 with total cereal production increasing to 180.99 lakh ton.

Rice production stood at 82.39 lakh ton in the fiscal, a hike of 21.1 per cent over the previous year, while wheat output also recorded a rise from 47.36 lakh ton in 2015-16 to 59.86 lakh ton in 2016-17, he said.
 

Sushil Modi said vegetable and milk production, too, witnessed an increase in the reporting fiscal.

The survey, divided in two volumes for 2017-18, also highlighted lower crime rates in the state.

"There was substantial impact of prohibition on the crime rates in Bihar. The highest decrease in crime rates was recorded for kidnapping for ransom (66.6 per cent), followed by murder (28.3 per cent) and dacoity (22.8 per cent)," the survey said.