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Manufacturing lags, but UP’s overall growth positive
LUCKNOW: The economic slowdown that the country is believed to be facing appears to have taken its toll on Uttar Pradesh’s manufacturing sector, which has shown
LUCKNOW: The economic slowdown that the country is believed to be facing appears to have taken its toll on Uttar Pradesh’s manufacturing sector, which has shown negligible growth in the first quarter, though the state’s overall economic growth shows a positive trend, courtesy its ever-increasing mining sector.
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) estimates for the current financial year’s first quarter (April-June) puts the average growth at 6.5% over the corresponding period of 2018-19. The growth is greater than the country’s GDP that was found to have grown at 5.8% during the same quarter.
“The quarterly estimates for April-June, which have not been released to the media, yet show a positive growth of 6.5% but the manufacturing sector has been found to be down at the bottom that indicates impact of countrywide economic meltdown resulting in low demand,” a senior government official, who did not want to be named, said.
The quarterly report puts the growth in the manufacturing sector at merely 0.1% between April and June, indicating a decline in industrial production in the state.
Manufacturing constitutes the main component of the industrial sector that, as a whole, has also grown slow at 2.6%, although growth in construction, which falls under the industrial sector, is higher at 5.7% and even higher, that is, 8.5% in electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services.
The growth in agriculture is 2%, which is also sluggish, but sources said agriculture growth was always low in the first quarter.
“Agriculture growth has always been found to be low in the first quarter and it is fine,” they claimed.
The livestock sector, one of the primary activities in the state, has reported a better growth of 4.3%, which is highest and after that is mining among the primary activities.
In the service sector that includes trade, hotel and restaurant, transport, storage, communication, railways and financial services, growth has been reported to be 7.9%, which appears to be around the annual growth reported in the sector last time.
The biggest contribution to UP’s GSDP has come from the mining, yet again, improving its overall growth. Mining and quarrying sector grew at a whopping 29.6% in the first quarter between April and June this year. Mining’s contribution to the country’s GDP during the same period, according to sources, was only 3%.
“The contribution of mining to the GSDP continues to grow while its contribution to the nation’s GDP is declining,” sources pointed out, adding, “Check on illegal mining, resulting into more government income by way of royalty, may be the reason for growth,” explained the sources.
