The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Himachal Pradesh at constant prices will grow by Rs 8,143 crore year-on-year in 2022-23, while growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) terms will be 6.4 per cent in the current fiscal against 7.6 per cent in 2021-22. The state's economic performance in 2022-23 will grow by Rs 18,143 crore in terms of real GDP. The Economic Survey presented in the Vidhan Sabha by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday pegged the GDP at constant prices (2011-12) in financial year 2022-23 at Rs 1,34,576 crore against a provisional GDP estimate of Rs 1,26,433 crore for 2021-22. The GDP at current prices is estimated at Rs 1,95,404 crore in 2022-23 compared to 1,76,269 crore in the previous year, reflecting an absolute increase of Rs 19,135 crore, and the nominal GDP growth is estimated at 10.9% in 2022-23 against 13.5% in 2021-22. The Economic Survey 2022-23 was prepared by the state Economic & Statistics Department. The report, tabled on the third day of the budget session, has shown tangible growth in the agricultural and allied sectors over the years. The contribution of the agriculture sector to Gross State Value Added (GSVA) at current prices has increased 40% from Rs 17,767 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 24,847 crore in 2022-23 as per advance estimates. There is a marked improvement in GSVA of crops at current prices from 2018-19 to 2022-23 from Rs 10,286 crore to Rs 15,561 crore. As per the advance estimates for 2022-23, the GVA from the primary sector is likely to grow at a pace of 2.0 per cent. The economic survey showed that the service sector in Himachal is growing at a significant pace. The service sector's contribution to the state's GVA grew by 6.9 per cent from the previous financial year. The service sector includes jobs in the hospitality and hotel industry given the presence of large-scale tourism in the state. The per capita income (PCI) is also estimated to increase to Rs 2,22,227 at current prices for Financial Year 2022-23 from Rs 2,01,271 in 2021-22, showing a growth of 10.4 per cent against 13.1 per cent in the previous year. The economic survey shows that the tertiary industry, which includes a large chunk of the service jobs, contributed better than the primary and secondary sectors. Based on the advance estimates of GVA, the tertiary sector accounted for 43.6% of the state's GVA at current prices, followed by the secondary sector at 42.7% and the primary sector at 13.7%. It is estimated that the manufacturing industry will perform well in the current financial as it had a maximum of 30.83% contribution to the industry sector. This was followed by construction and water supply and other utilities. During the current year, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow at 6.7 per cent which is the third-highest growth rate in the industry sector. The survey has signalled good news for the tourism industry which is the backbone of the state. As per the report, the tourist arrivals after Covid-19 pandemic increased from 32.13 lakh in 2020 to 56.37 lakh in 2021 and further to 150.99 lakh in 2022 in absolute terms. The figures suggest that tourism has resumed to pre-pandemic levels. The state's five perennial river basins have the potential to produce about 27,436 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric electricity. Out of the total hydroelectric potential of the state, 10,519 MW has been harnessed so far of which 7.6 per cent is under the control of the Himachal government, while the rest is exploited by the central government. The newly imposed cess on hydel power will give the government nearly Rs 4,000 crore revenue but has also worried the producers of their operative feasibility. From April through December of the current financial year 2022-23, the Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) at the state level fell from 15.4% to 5.0 per cent. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fluctuated between 3.2 per cent and 7.2 per cent. Himachal Pradesh ranked second in India in terms of sustainable development goals (SDGs) after Kerala in 2020-21 and ranked fifth among the northeastern and hill states in India Innovation Index 2021, the report said. As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22, Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of all ages for Himachal Pradesh (58.1%) is higher than Uttarakhand (40.8%), Punjab (41.3%), Haryana (35.4%). It is even greater than the national average of 41.3%. Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for all ages (15+) for Himachal Pradesh in 2021-22 (55.8%) is better than Uttarakhand (37.6%), Punjab (38.6%), Haryana (32.3%) and all India (39.6%). In Himachal Pradesh, more women (50.5%) are actively participating in economic activities than their counterparts, at all Indian levels, and among neighbouring states, the report said. The apple production in 2022-23, till December, was recorded at 674 thousand tonnes against 611 thousand tonnes in the previous year. In the absence of timely rainfall and snow in the current season, farmers are apprehensive of a low produce in the coming harvest. The unemployment rate of the state is lowest at 4.0 per cent against all India rates of 4.1 per cent, Uttarakhand at 7.8 per cent, Punjab at 6.4 per cent, and Haryana at 9.0 per cent.
