Andhra Pradesh had a roller coaster ride in terms of growth rate over the last decade, but the turbulent political and economic situation during agitation for and against State bifurcation had resulted in steep fluctuations in the per capita income over the years, says Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University K. Viyanna Rao.
In a well researched paper titled, “First steps in building a new Andhra Pradesh,” in the book, “Perspective Plan for Development of Andhra Pradesh”, Dr. Rao said that Andhra Pradesh recorded an astounding growth rate of 9.26 per cent during (2004-2012), higher than national growth rate of 8.39 per cent.
But after reaching a high of 10.38 per cent during 2007-2008, the growth rate dropped to just 5.07 per cent in 2009-2010 due to the turbulent political situation. But after weathering the storm, the growth rate picked up in 2010-2011 to a healthy 8.92 per cent before slipping again to just 5.80 per cent in 2011-2012. The Gross Domestic Product of the State had almost doubled from Rs.2.24 lakh crore in 2004-2005 to Rs.4.07 lakh crore in 2011-2012. The share of agriculture in GDP has dropped to 19.22 per cent in 2011-2012 from 25.07 in 2004-2005 while services sector grew by 5 per cent and industrial sector grew by just 1 per cent.
Per Capita Incomes, which point to standard of living, has also witnessed fluctuating growth trends. From a healthy growth rate of 19.9 per cent in 2007-2008, it has slipped to 12 per cent in 2012-13.
