Bihar posts 10.5% growth in 2019-20, more than double the growth rate of Indian economy

Bihar recorded a growth of 10.5 per cent in 2019-20, more than double the growth rate of the Indian economy that stood at 4.2 per cent, according to the Bihar Economic Survey 2020-21.

While the growth rate at the national level has been declining in the recent years, Bihar’s economic growth has accelerated. Bihar’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) had grown by 9.3 per cent in 2018-19 at constant price.
Bihar’s economic growth has been fuelled by the growth in services sector. The higher growth in the services sector is also evidenced by the fact the its share in the economy has risen by around three percentage point in the past seven years. The share of tertiary sector in Bihar’s GSDP rose to 60.2 per cent in 2019-20 as against 57.3 per cent recorded in 2013-14. The contribution of agriculture and allied sector in Bihar’s GSDP stood at 18.7 per cent.

“Bihar recorded a double digit growth rate of 10.5 per cent in 2019-20 which is higher than the growth rate of Indian economy at 4.2 per cent in the same fiscal,” Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad told reporters after tabling the 15th Economic Survey of Bihar in the state’s legislative assembly.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) stood at Rs.611,804 crore at the current prices and Rs.414,977 crore at the constant (2011-12) prices in 2019-20.

Prasad, who also holds the finance portfolio, tabled in the Economic Survey in the legislative assembly ahead of presentation of Budget.

The Economic Survey report for 2020-21 is based mostly on the fiscal 2019-20 data. According to Finance Department’s Principal Secretary S Sidhartha, some data in the report has been taken till September 2020 but mostly the data is of 2019-20 fiscal.

As per the Economic Survey report, Bihar’s GSDP plunged by 18.2 per cent during the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal due to the lockdowns imposed to contain Covid-19 pandemic. The economies across the world were hit during that period. The slump in Bihar’s economy was relatively less than the performance of the Indian economy that had recorded a fall of 23.9 per cent during April-June 2020 quarter. The state is projected to post ‘V-shaped’ recovery in the coming quarters.