Tamil Nadu emerged as the only possible southern State to clock a positive growth rate of 1.42% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — 2020-21. This is one of the highlights of the data released recently by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Originally, the State’s growth rate was projected at about 2%.
The data, compiled as on August 2, do not contain figures for several States, including Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat. However, the available data reveal that the growth rate of the southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry contracted — minus 2.58%, minus 2.62%, minus 0.62% and minus 3.46% respectively. At the all-India level, the growth was estimated at minus 7.3%.
An economist said the figures are subject to revision as they have been based on the available data. For example, Tamil Nadu’s growth figure of 8.03%, provisionally worked out for 2019-20, has been scaled down to 6.13%.
During 2020-21, an impressive performance of the primary sector enabled the State to register the positive growth rate. Among various segments of the sector, agriculture topped the list with 6.89% growth. In absolute terms, the value of agricultural production was estimated at ₹53,703 crore. The grain production was 113.4 lakh tonnes, of which rice (paddy) accounted for nearly 73 lakh tonnes and millets 36 lakh tonnes, with pulses constituting the rest. As for the other agricultural crops, the production of sugarcane was 128 lakh tonnes, oilseeds 9.82 lakh tonnes and cotton 2.5 lakh bales.
While livestock and fishery put up an equally impressive show, the outliers in the primary sector were forestry and logging and mining and quarrying. For the second year in a row, the segment of mining and quarrying showed negative growth. This time, it was about minus 17.8%.
There was not much to talk about the secondary sector, comprising manufacturing, construction, electricity and other utility services. The sector had managed to show a positive growth of 0.36%.
As for the services sector, the performance was marginally better than that of the secondary. Financial services did an impressive job with 10.83% and real estate scraped through with 0.62%. Predictably, the other segments such as hotels, restaurants, transport and communications took a beating.
As per an estimate, taxes of all types — the Goods & Services Tax, customs and excise duties — fetched the State about ₹1.6 lakh crore last year, about ₹3 lakh crore higher than the previous year. The value of subsidies on products such as food, fertiliser and petroleum, about ₹20,590 crore, was approximately ₹2,000 crore lower than that of 2019-20.
