Gujarat surpassed the national CAGR and emerged as a growth engine of India: Govt

With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent between 2002-03 and 2022-23, which was higher than the national average during the period, Gujarat has maintained its position as one of the fastest growing states in the country. , the state government said.

With such strong economic fundamentals, Gujarat has long been recognized as India's 'growth engine', the report said.

“When we started the Vibrant Gujarat Summit (two decades ago, when he was Gujarat CM), our intention was for the state to become the growth engine of the country's progress. With just 6 percent of India's landmass and 5 percent of India's population, Gujarat has earned the distinction of being one of the most industrially developed states,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently. The latest edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) is expected to accelerate the pace of development in the state and help further strengthen the foundations of the state's and India's economy. The 10th edition of the VGGS will be held between January 10 and 12 in Gandhinagar. At Rs 22.61 lakh crore, Gujarat contributes around 8 percent to India's gross domestic product (GDP), according to government data. Gujarat-based economist Hemant Shah said, “Gujarat's GDP growth was higher than India's GDP growth. Though GDP growth of other states rose over the years, our economic growth remained higher than others states. This was one of the reasons why business houses are looking at Gujarat for investments.” In terms of sectoral contribution within Gujarat, the manufacturing sector contributes around 36.7 percent to Gujarat's GSP, as per the official data of the financial year 2021-2022. Sachin K Patel, Executive Committee Member of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), explained how the Gujarat government's business-friendly policies gave a boost to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. “MSME is the backbone of our country and provides the maximum amount of employment opportunities in the country and in Gujarat. Thanks to the business-friendly policies of the state government, more and more MSME units are being set up in the state,” he said. said.

This economic growth has had a transformative effect on employment and living standards for workers, a government statement said. According to the annual report of the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS), in the year 2020-21, Gujarat had a labor force participation rate of 44.3 percent and a Worker Population Ratio (WPR) of 43.3 percent (for all age groups). and the unemployment rate of 2.2 percent, the lowest among major industrialized states. “I have been associated with the ceramic line for a long time. My family members were also associated with it in the past. Many people like me are finding employment in this sector. Not just Gujarat, people from outside the state are also. here we also get employment,” said Jagdish Chaudhary, a worker at the ceramic factory. The growing economy has also helped the state make substantial progress in the social sector, especially in education and healthcare. Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Community Health Centers (CHCs) in Gujarat registered a growth of 41 percent and 37 percent respectively between 2001-2002 and 2021-2022. A total of 319 CHCs, 1,463 PHCs and 6,575 sub-centers were operating in the state as of end-November 2022, the government statement said.

There are more than 30 medical colleges operating in Gujarat today, compared to just nine medical colleges in 2001. “The initiative of Cataract-mukt Abhiyan (cataract-free mission) was initiated by our CM Bhupendra Patel. We have performed eight lakh cataract surgeries. We have identified a total of 19,000 patients who had cataracts in both eyes, we performed cataract surgeries which turned out to be successful. If we talk about cataract, it is well treated in Gujarat,” Dr. Nilam Patel, additional director of the health department, said.

The state has made tremendous progress in education over the past two decades. The primary school dropout rate has fallen significantly, from 22.30 percent in 1999-2000 to 1.32 percent in 2020-2021. Similarly, the dropout rate between standards I and VIII has fallen from 41.48 percent in 1999-2000 to just 3.07 percent in 2020-21. India's first Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) was established in 2019. The VSK aimed to leverage data and technology to drive a quantum leap in learning outcomes. Prime Minister Modi visited the Gandhinagar facility in April 2022 and asked other states to study and replicate Gujarat's VSK model to develop education holistically. VSK has been considered a Global Best Practice by the World Bank.

First print: January 5, 2024 | 3:35 PM IST