Shillong, Feb 23: On the GSDP front, Meghalaya continues to clock impressive figures, being the only state in the country that has had an average growth rate of at least 10 per cent over the past three years. Meghalaya is also on target to meet its goal of becoming a $10 billion economy by 2028.
However, with its fast rising population, take this GSDP growth and divide among all the people in the state and the per capita figures are less impressive. Although per capita GSDP has nearly doubled, from Rs 88,954 to Rs 1,57,141 (an increase of 1.8 times), this has only been enough to lift Meghalaya from 28th in the country to 26th.
The subject of GSDP growth was one of those covered in Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s reply to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Assembly today.
Sangma said that Meghalaya’s consistent growth since he took office in 2018 is a matter of satisfaction. He added that this growth is not because of one particular year being great or one particular year spending going up but it is a consistent effort.
“We have kept the target that we will cross the Rs 85,000 crore which roughly translates into a $10 billion economy and with this in mind we moved forward,” the Chief Minister added.
On concerns of per capita GSDP not growing as hoped, the CM admitted that it is a fact that it has been low for years.
Sangma told the house that in 2019 the state was ranked at 28th position in the country in terms of the per capita income and presently Meghalaya has gone up the ladder to 26th.
This slow improvement is because Meghalaya’s population growth is significantly higher than most other parts of the country. “This factor affects the overall growth in the per capita GDP and does not get reflected completely in terms of what we see in the GSDP numbers,” he added.
Sangma said that while the GSDP has gone up from 2018-19 to 2024 from Rs 32,000 crore in 2018 to Rs 59,000 in 2024, which is a 1.9 times increase, per capita income has gone up from Rs 88,954 to Rs 1,57,141, which is an increase of 1.8 times.
