Odisha registers 8.4% economic growth

June 28, 2019 Government

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has registered 8.4 per cent economic growth in the financial year 2018-19 against 7.4 per cent in 2017-18, according to the Economic Survey Report 2018-19.

“Odisha witnessed high economic growth in the year 2018-19. The State’s real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew at an impressive 8.4%, higher than the growth witnessed in the preceding year, 2017-18 (7.4%) AE,” said the report.

This high rate of growth was largely driven by the industry sector. Its share in the total output has been consistently increasing since the last four years and in 2018-19, it is expected to contribute 39.47% to the state’s Gross Value Added (GVA).

The industry sector is also the fastest growing sector out of the three sectors in the economy, namely agriculture and allied activities, industry and services.

The manufacturing sector exhibited a double-digit growth for the fourth year in a row. With the state being home to the country’s largest mineral deposits, Odisha has significant comparative advantage in the mining and manufacturing industries.

As of 2018-19, these two sub-sectors collectively contributed more than one-third of the total output of the State. The government emphasizes on further growth in this sector with initiatives like Make in Odisha Conclave, adoption of Industrial Policy Resolution, 2015 and Ease of Doing Business framework.

The drought of 2017-18 caused a contraction in agricultural output. The sector recovered in 2018-19 with a robust growth rate of 8.3%. Activities like livestock rearing and aquaculture have emerged as the fastest growing sub-sectors of agriculture and allied sector and these have the potential to be the drivers of sustainable agricultural growth.

The services sector, which holds 41.62% of share in the state’s GVA (2018-19 (AE)) continues to be an important contributor to the economy of Odisha.

The sector witnessed a slowdown in the past year as compared to 2017-18. Ancillary activities like transport and communication, however, grew at a robust rate of 9.9%.