Delhi’s GSDP set to cross ₹3 lakh per capita, third state to hit benchmark

With an expected per capita GSDP of ₹3.08 lakh in 2022-23, Delhi will become the third state after Goa and Sikkim to cross the benchmark

Delhi’s per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) , at constant prices will cross ₹3 lakh per year for the first time in 2022-23, the Delhi government said in its Economic Survey presented in the Delhi assembly on March 20.

The market at east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.) (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Delhi’s total GSDP growth in 2022-23 as per the first advanced estimates, is likely to be 9.2%, the survey said. The city state’s GSDP growth for 2022-23 is marginally higher than the 9.1% number for 2021-22 which came on a low base given the 6.6% contraction in 2020-21 on account of the pandemic. These numbers suggest that Delhi’s growth performance was at par with India’s overall growth rate in 2021-22 but 2.1 percentage points higher than it in 2022-23.

While the headline numbers suggest that Delhi’s economy has made a V-shaped recovery from the pandemic’s impact, a disaggregated analysis shows divergence across sectors.

Delhi’s Gross State Value Added (GVSA) has grown by 10.9% between 2019-20 (pre-pandemic value) and 2021-22. However, the sector-wise recovery varies from a 25% contraction for agriculture and allied activities to a 28% growth in the construction sector. The only other sector apart from agriculture which has not been able to cross its pre-pandemic GSVA value is the trade, hotel and restaurants sector where the 2022-23 GSVA value is 2.1% lower than the 2019-20 value. To be sure, other service sector sub-sectors have shown a healthy growth over pre-pandemic values.

With an expected per capita GSDP of ₹3.08 lakh in 2022-23, Delhi will become the third state after Goa and Sikkim (both of which had a per capita GSDP over ₹3 lakh in 2021-22 itself) to cross the benchmark. The respective numbers for Goa and Sikkim were ₹3.6 lakh crore and ₹3.03 lakh crore.

The other interesting point in the Economic Survey numbers is that Delhi’s spending on subsidies is likely to come down for the second consecutive year in 2022-23. This number has fallen from ₹8443 crore in 2020-21 to ₹5273 crore in 2022-23.

The Economic Survey, by definition is an assessment of the fiscal year that was and therefore does not give any forward-looking numbers, which will be presented in Tuesday’s Budget.