According to the Economic Review 2022, Kerala’s economy showed a strong recovery in 2021-22. The GSDP growth rate increased from (-)8. 43 per cent in 2020-21 (P) to 12.
01 per cent in 2021-22. The economic review has been published by the state planning board. This is the fastest growth since 2012-13.
The Indian economy grew by 8. 7 per cent in 2021-22 (P). The stimulus packages along with other proactive policy interventions of the state government augmented growth, particularly at a time when economic activities were severely constrained.
The growth rate in the primary sector at constant prices increased from 0. 79 per cent in 2020-21 to 4. 16 per cent in 2021-22, mainly because of the increase in production of some crops, livestock, fishing, and aquaculture.
Agriculture and allied activities’ growth increased from 0. 24 per cent in 2020-21 to 4. 64 per cent in 2021-22.
This is higher than the 3 per cent growth in 2021-22 (P) recorded at the national level. Fishing and aquaculture and crop sectors registered positive growth of 30. 1 per cent and 3.
63 per cent respectively in 2021-22. The industrial sector grew by 3. 9 per cent in 2021-22 (Q) compared to (-) 2.
82 per cent in 2020-21. Subsectors of industry such as manufacturing (3. 63%) and construction (2.
4%) showed positive growth in 2021-22. The service sector posted a robust growth rate of 17. 3 per cent in 2021-22 (Q) as against the (-) 14.
44 per cent in 2020-21. This is due to the increased growth of particular subsectors of the tertiary sector, which include trade, repair, hotels and restaurants, road transport, air transport, and water transport. The cash deposit ratio of public sector banks in Kerala increased to 65.
85 per cent in March 2022 from 64. 74 per cent in March 2021. The revenue deficit as a per cent to GSDP for 2021-22 is 2.
29 per cent as against 2. 51 per cent in 2020-21. Similarly, fiscal deficit as a per cent to GSDP improved to 4.
11 per cent in 2021-22 from 4. 57 per cent in 2020-21. The growth rate of the State’s Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) of Kerala in 2021-22 was 22.
41 per cent. The high growth rate is mainly because of the growth in GST, sales tax, and VAT. The outstanding public debt of the state at the end of 2021-22 was Rs 219974.
54 crore. The annual growth rate of public debt decreased to 10. 16 per cent in 2021-22 from 14.
34 per cent in 2020-21. The public debt-GSDP ratio decreased to 24. 26 per cent in 2021-22 from 25.
90 per cent in 2020-21. The total outstanding liabilities of the state were at 37 per cent in 2021-22, which was 37. 13 per cent in 2020-21.
Kerala’s efforts to improve its finances through the fiscal consolidation path have been jolted by a series of setbacks in realms beyond the control of the state government. The mobilisation of additional revenue and prioritising expenditure assume significant importance in the way forward towards fiscal consolidation, says the report. The Government of Kerala is committed to infrastructural development in the state and the share of government spending on capital projects in various sectors has increased in recent years.
The capital expenditure of the state in 2021-22 was Rs 17,046. 02 crore and in 2020-21 it was Rs 15,438. 16 crore.
According to the live register of employment exchanges in Kerala, the total number of job seekers as on July 2022 was 28. 4 lakh while it was 34. 9 lakh on December 31, 2015.
During the financial year 2021-22, PSUs under the industries department reported a turnover of Rs 3892. 14 crore, with an operating profit of Rs 386. 03 crore.
The turnover has increased by 17. 8 per cent compared to the previous year. The Government of Kerala decided to celebrate 2022-23 as a “Year of Enterprises” to encourage and promote micro, small and medium-level entrepreneurs in the state.
The government was able to achieve the ambitious target of commencing one lakh new enterprises within a remarkable period of 250 days from the 1st of April to the 7th of December 2022. As part of this achievement, an investment of Rs 6,274 crore and 2,20,285 new employment opportunities were created in the state. Around a third of these newly formed enterprises are promoted by women entrepreneurs.
In school education, the government has been giving emphasis on improvement in the quality of school infrastructure. There is an increase in enrolment, the total number of new students who sought admission in government and aided schools for the last five years is 8,16,929. The government has taken progressive steps in the development of inclusive education.
Free uniforms, mid-day meals, financial assistance for meeting the expenses towards travelling, hostel facilities, excursions for students, etc, are also provided to promote them. Apart from this, to ensure an all-inclusive education, KITE developed audiobooks for visually challenged and sign-adapted classes for hearing-impaired students of classes 10 and 12. In public healthcare, the government’s focus is on providing accessible, equitable, affordable, and quality healthcare services for all.
Kerala is at the top of the table with respect to indicators of health. Kerala is the only bigger state in India with a single-digit infant mortality rate (IMR) of 6, whereas it is 28 at the all-India level. It has the lowest MMR (19) among states whereas MMR at the national level is 97.
Life expectancy at birth in the state is 75, higher than the national level (70). The Aardram Mission was launched by the state government for the development of health infrastructure. Under the e-Health Project, Kerala emerged as the only state in the country where a database of 2,59,55,975 people has been collected and stored as electronic records.
This includes 68,34,845 houses, 1,26,83,841 males, 1,32,71,318 females, and 816 transgender persons. Around 1,196 Janakeeya Hotels (hotel network set up by Kudumbashree in convergence with the local government to provide meals at Rs 20) have been started to achieve the government’s mission to make Kerala hunger-free. On average these hotels sell 1.
65 lakh meals per day. The state government is setting up a textile processing centre at Nadukani, an important step towards localisation of high-end textile processing in the state. The longest bowstring bridge in southern India, the 981-metre-long Valiazheekal Bridge connecting Alappuzha and Kollam was inaugurated in March 2022.
This year’s theme chapter is entitled “Higher Education for Growth and Development: An Overview”. Improvements in higher education are a prerequisite for the development of the state into a knowledge society as envisioned by the government. The Government of Kerala has taken multiple initiatives to enhance academic standards, increase the enrolment ratio, and provide young people with state-of-the-art facilities in the sphere of higher education, says the review.
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From: news18
URL: https://www.news18.com/news/india/economic-review-shows-keralas-strong-recovery-in-2021-22-after-covid-crisis-gsdp-growth-rate-soars-to-12-6982555.html
