The State economy posted a ‘‘strong recovery’‘ in 2021-22 with the Gross State Domestic product (GSDP) clocking a 12.01% growth at constant prices, the Economic Review 2022 published on Thursday said.
The growth rate was up from –8.43% recorded during the pandemic-plagued 2020-21. The 2021-22 growth is the highest recorded since 2012-13, according to the document tabled in the State Assembly by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal ahead of Friday’s Budget presentation.
‘’The State managed to achieve recovery primarily through a counter-cyclical fiscal policy implemented through various stimulus packages,’‘ the review noted.
Growth across various sectors revealed a positive trend over the previous fiscal. The agriculture and allied sectors registered a growth of 4.64% in 2021-22 compared to 0.24% in 2020-21, Industry from –2.82% to 3.87%, and the service sector from –14.44% to 17.3% in 2021-22.
Fiscal deficit dipped to 4.11% and revenue deficit to 2.29%, it said.
Public debt
The outstanding public debt of the State stood at ₹2,19,974.54 crore at the end of 2021-22. The annual growth rate of public debt decreased from 14.34% to 10.16%, and the public debt-GSDP ratio from 25.90% to 24.26% in 2021-22 compared to the previous fiscal.
Revenue receipts in 2021-22 stood at ₹1,16,640.24 crore. The State’s own tax revenue rose to ₹58,340.52 crore compared to ₹47,660.84 crore in 2020-21.
During the pandemic, the own tax growth rate had plummeted to (-)5.29% owing to COVID-19. In 2021-22, the growth rate bounced back to 22.41%. State’s own non-tax revenue clocked a growth rate of 42.79% in 2021-22 at ₹10,462.51 crore.
Revenue expenditure
The Economic Review observed that revenue expenditure grew by 18.42% in 2021-22 over the previous fiscal, from ₹1,23,446.33 crore to ₹1,46,179.51 crore. It underscored the need to keep the revenue expenditure down and prioritise spending.
Capital expenditure, meanwhile, was up from ₹15,438.16 crore to ₹17,046.02 crore, with public works accounting for 24.43% of the total outlay.
KIIFB
The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) completed 101 out of the 928 construction works that were sanctioned. In all, 369 works were in progress. During 2021-22, KIIFB released ₹8,459.47 crore for project funding compared to ₹5,484.88 crore in the previous fiscal. The total disbursement towards various KIIFB-approved projects touched ₹20,454.63 crore as on March, 2022.
