Himachal economic growth to be 7.3 pct, per capita income at Rs 1.76 tn: CM Thakur

Himachal Pradesh's economic growth is expected to be 7.3 per cent this fiscal and its per capita income is estimated at Rs 1,76,968, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told the Assembly on Friday. The economic growth was 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, the highest in three years.

The per capita income at current prices witnessed an increase of 7.8 per cent as it rose to Rs 1,60,711 in 2017-18 from Rs 1,49,028 in 2016-17. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices in 2017-18 increased to Rs 1,36,542 crore from Rs 1,25,122 crore in 2016-17 and, according to advance estimates, it is likely to be about Rs 1,51,835 crore in 2018-19, said the Chief Minister, who also holds the finance portfolio.

In 2018-19, total revenue of Rs 4,230.42 crore has been mobilised till November 2018. However, there was a notable decline in horticulture and tourism, says the state's Economic Survey 2018-19.

The state's agriculture sector generates about 9 per cent of the total GSDP. In 2017-18, according to third estimates, the anticipated foodgrain production is 15.31 lakh metric tonnes (MT) against the achieved production of 15.63 lakh MT in 2016-17. For 2018-19, the target is 16.69 lakh MT, says the report. The fruit production is 4.06 lakh tonnes in 2018-19 (till December 2018) against 5.65 lakh tonnes in 2017-18.

Apples produced during the same period was 3.60 lakh tonne against 4.47 lakh tonne in 2017-18. Apple, the country's fruit basket, constituted about 79 per cent of total fruit production during this year.

Growing off-season vegetables has also picked up in the state. In 2017-18, 16.92 lakh tonnes of vegetables were produced against 16.54 tonnes in 2016-17, a growth of 2.3 per cent. Tourists footfall in the state last year declined to 164.50 lakh, that included 35,6568 foreigners, from 196.02 lakh in 2017. It was the highest in 14 years.

(With inputs from agencies.)