Patna: The income of the people of Bihar is still the worst in the country. Experts are of the view that the biggest reason for this is not having industrial investment in Bihar and lagging behind in the IT sector. It is a big challenge for the government of Nitish Kumar to compete with the states like Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, and Haryana in terms of per capita income. It is not even that easy to meet the national average.
DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH, BUT BACKWARD IN EARNINGS
Bihar’s growth rate was 3.19 per cent in 2005, but Bihar’s growth rate in 2020 was initially 11.3 per cent. Prior to this, Nitish Kumar led government has been claiming for 10 consecutive years that the growth rate of Bihar has been in double digits.
PEOPLE’S INCOME IS HALF OF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
In the name of the 15 years versus 15 years debate, Nitish Kumar and BJP leaders have been consistently claiming that there has been a lot of development in Bihar. But there is a flip side of their development claims, which is reflected in the income of the people of Bihar. It is half of the national average. The average per capita annual income of the people of Bihar is around Rs 33,000. This situation of Bihar is when a majority of the 31 ministers of Bihar are millionaires. Also, out of 243 MLAs and 40 MPs, most of them are millionaires.
“Bihar has been known as a backward state. There has been development in Bihar but per capita income has not increased due to the large size of population. Apart from this, the work that should be done in agriculture, industry and service sectors has not been done, which has an impact on per capita income. To make the income equal to the national average, Bihar will have to grow at the rate of 20 per cent per annum.” says economist NK Chaudhary.
“Development in Bihar has taken place in those sectors, which are not having an effect in increasing the income of the people. Assets have increased in Bihar. Roads, buildings and infrastructure have improved, but he has not been able to increase the income of the people. Bihar is still far behind in fields like agriculture, health and education. There have been no industrial investments. There is also a considerable disparity in per capita income in districts in Bihar. The situation in Patna is somewhat better. At the same time, the situation in 20 districts is very bad,” according to DM Diwakar, Economic expert.
“Unless there will be large-scale industrialization and investment in the IT sector, till then the income of the people cannot increase much. Special initiative will have to be taken for this,” says KPS Kesari, Former president BIA and industrialist.
“Nitish Kumar certainly claims, but the truth is that the per capita income of the people of Bihar is much lower than even small states of the country. It will not improve until Nitish Kumar changes his team,” says Shyam Rajak, Former minister and RJD leader
“This is why we have been continuously demanding a special package for the State. During the Congress era, Bihar did not get a fair share in mineral royalty. Congress was responsible for Bihar’s second-class status. But now the way Nitish Kumar has taken the initiative, it will definitely see its impact in the coming days. The per capita income will also increase significantly,” Rajiv Ranjan, JDU spokesperson says.
BIHAR NET STATE DOMESTIC PRODUCT FIGURES
* Rs 11,750 per capita annual income in 2011-12
* Per capita annual income Rs 22,201 in 2012-13
* Rs 22,776 per capita annual income in 2013-14
* Annual income per person Rs 23,223 in 2014-15
* Annual income per capita Rs 24,064 in 2015-16
* Per capita annual income Rs 25,825 in 2016-17
* Per capita annual income Rs 28,101 in 2017-18
* Per capita annual income Rs 30,617 in 2018-19
* Per capita annual income Rs 33,000 in 2019-20
INEQUALITY IN PER CAPITA INCOME IN DISTRICTS OF BIHAR
The per capita income in Bihar was about 31 per cent of the national average 10 years ago. It is today around 38 per cent. As compared to the states of Goa, Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, the per capita income is very low in Bihar. On the other hand, there is considerable inequality in per capita income even inside Bihar. There is considerable disparity among districts in Bihar.
INCOME THAT DOES NOT INCREASE
* Bihar’s per capita income is 38 per cent of national average
* Inequality in per capita income even within Bihar
* Annual per capita income above Rs 60,000 in Patna
* Per capita income below Rs 10,000 in Supaul, Madhepura and Sheohar
* The condition of 12 districts in Bihar is even more worrisome
THE CONDITION OF 12 DISTRICTS IS VERY BAD
The situation in many other districts is much worse than Patna. The annual per capita income in Patna is above Rs 60 thousand. The per capita income in districts like Supaul, Madhepura and Sheohar is below Rs 10 thousand. There are 12 such districts in Bihar where the condition is very bad in terms of per capita income.
BIHAR LAGGARDS IN PER CAPITA INCOME
According to the Bihar Economic Survey report, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Banka, Kaimur, Arwal, Nawada, Supaul, Madhepura, Katihar, Araria and Kishanganj remain laggards in terms of per capita income. In fact, the state of per capita income in Bihar has put a big question mark on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s double-digit growth claim.
