Updated: October 13, 2020 9:43:32 am
The cycles for schoolgirls was one of the plans of the Nitish government. For 2020-21, the budget for family health and wellness has doubled. (Proceedings)
As Bihar heads into an election that promises to be a proxy battle fought between former and current allies, only in the state’s economic conditions, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appears to have a distinct advantage. The state has improved in the last five years in terms of growth of the state’s gross domestic product (PDG), agriculture, health and education spending, as well as infrastructure.
However, the problems of Bihar’s legacy continue, such as minimal industrialization, clean water, sanitation, open defecation, rural housing, and microfinance for small and marginal farmers.
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In Nitish’s first decade as CM, between 2005-06 and 2014-15, Bihar’s GSDP at constant prices grew annually at 10.5%. Although this increase was attributed to a low base effect, the GSDP continued to grow at an average rate of 9.8%, higher than the national growth rate, even between 2010-11 and 2014-15.
Before the 2015 Assembly elections, Kumar terminated his decade-long relationship with the BJP-led NDA and opted to go to the polls with Mahagathbandhan, his longtime political enemy Lalu Prasad. The alliance was chosen, but could not last the mandate. Two years later, in 2017, Kumar left the Mahagathbandhan association to return to the NDA and continue as CM.
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The political seesaw seemed to have had its effect on the GSDP. In 2015-16, the growth rate fell to 7.6%, much lower than Nitish’s two previous periods, although still higher than the national growth rate.
Troubled industry
However, Bihar continues to be plagued with negligible revenue and growth in its industrial sector, which is reflected in both its liabilities and income. In his 15 years, Nitish has failed to make a big dent in outstanding liabilities; In the period from 2015 to 2019 alone, these grew from Rs 1.16 lakh crore to Rs 1.68 lakh crore. Meanwhile, Bihar’s revenue revenue has been consistently lower than budgeted estimates. The peak of Rs 14,823 crore in 2017-18 had fallen to less than half, Rs 6,897 crore, in 2018-19.
At the beginning of the legislature of this Assembly, 2015-16, when the industrial sector grew by 7.1%, it contributed only 19% of the GSDP. This was well below the national average of 30%, and almost half the average contribution of the industrial sector even in neighboring Jharkhand (when Bihar and Jharkhand split into two states, the smaller partner accounted for most of their industries. ).
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While increasing since then, the industrial sector contribution to the GSDP was still only around 20% in 2017-18 (the national average was 31.2%, while Jharkhand’s figure stood at 37.1% ).
At the end of 2016-17, only about 2,900 of the estimated 3,531 factories in Bihar were operating, each employing an average of 40 people. The national average is almost double, 77 workers. The average annual wage per worker in Bihar was then a pitiful 1.2 lakh rupees, again less than half the national average of 2.5 lakh rupees.
Agriculture growth
The growth of agriculture and related activities, by contrast, a priority for the JD (U) government, has been slow but steady. About 70% of Bihar’s workforce relies on agriculture. Agriculture’s share in the GSDP was 20% in 2017-18, up from 18% five years ago. With an average annual growth rate of 4.4% in the last five years, the production of important crops such as corn, rice and wheat has grown despite the fall in the net sown area.
Agriculture has also performed well despite the fluctuating contribution of the government itself. In 2015-16, total spending on agriculture and related activities stood at Rs 4,119.9 million, or 11% of total state spending on economic services. In 2016-17, this dropped to Rs 2,414.4 crore, while in the following fiscal year, it jumped back to Rs 5,724.1 crore. Public spending on agricultural research has also declined in the last five years.
Microfinance for small and marginal farmers remains a problem, despite constituting 91% of the state’s agricultural community, with an average property of 0.4 hectares.
Boost to well-being
On the other hand, Bihar, historically at the bottom rungs of human development indices like health and education, has caught up with social sector spending under Nitish. For 2020-21, Deputy Minister of Finance and CM Sushil Kumar Modi has allocated Rs 39,351 crore for education, sports, arts and culture. This is substantially higher than the allocation of Rs 22,027.9 crore in 2015-16 (17% of the state budget), of which Bihar managed to spend Rs 19,385.6 crore. The state has been trying to contain its high dropout rates, which stood at 52.5% for girls and 59% for boys in high school in 2015-16.
Similarly, the Nitish government budget of Rs 10,602 crore for family health and wellness programs in 2020-21 is more than double the allocation of Rs 4,971.6 crore in 2015-16. Spending on family health and wellness in 2020-21 is likely to be considerably higher due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to spending as Bihar tries to increase its district and referral hospitals, as well as the number of centers for 114 health per 10 lakh people today.
Progress has been slow. The state government only built and put into operation one district hospital between 2012 and 2019, while the number of referral hospitals has remained stagnant at 70. The number of primary health care centers has hardly changed either, with the latest 533 count in 2019. same as the previous seven years.
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