Andhra Pradesh has achieved the number one rank in the country with an average growth of 10.5% during the last four years.
It has surpassed many developed States such as Maharashtra and Gujarat following a “focused approach” and setting high targets for itself.
According to the State Planning Department, the average growth in the country stood at 7.3% during the last four years.
Probably, Andhra Pradesh is the only State to clock the double-digit growth rate.
While Telangana has slipped to the second place, Maharashtra is ranked sixth. Punjab is placed 14th and Karnataka third.
The growth in Andhra Pradesh was 9.2% in 2014-15, the year of bifurcation. Later, it was ranked second. In the subsequent year, it achieved a double-digit growth of 10.6% though its rank had slipped to the 4th place.
Double-digit progress
Since then, the State has been achieving double-digit growth rates.
Gujarat, which is considered the most developed State, registered a growth of 10.5% in 2014-15. But it slipped to 10.1 in 2016-17. The data pertaining to 2017-18 is not available.
Telangana, which registered 6.8% growth in 2014-15 could achieve 10.4% in 2017-18, officials said.
The Per Capita Income (PCI) also increased by more than ₹40,000 during 2017-18 in the State, which started its journey with “the lowest PCI of ₹93,903” in the southern States.
The PCI crossed the ₹1 lakh mark in 2015-16. The trend has been upward since then.
The PCI grew to ₹1,08,163 in 2015-16 and to ₹1,23,664 in 2016-17 and ₹1,42,054 in 2017-18.
Planning Secretary Sanjay Gupta said Andhra Pradesh, with a population of 4.96 crore (as per 2011 census), was placed 9th in the country with a PCI of ₹1.24 lakh in 2016-17 against ₹1.07 lakh in 2015-16.
Compared with the all-India PCI of ₹1.13 lakh in 2017-18, there is a quantum jump in the State’s PCI in 2017-18 and 2015-16.
