Draft Annual Plan 1988-89 (Bihar)

Abstract

Growth of State Domestic product and per capita Income.—Although Bihar continues to be among the States with the lowest per capita income, the rate of growth of the State Domestic Product (S.D.P) has shown significant increase during the eighties. Even if we ignore the high growth rate of 10.48 per cent in 1980-81 over the previous year 1579-80 which happened to be a year of severe drought with a low agriculture production base and adopt the average for the triennum ending 1980-81 as the base, the S.D.P. during the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980—85) grew at the rate of 4.44 per cent per annum (compound). The growth rate in the Fifth Plan was 4.97 per cent per annum (compound). Therefore, there is only a marginal short fall in the growth rate in the Sixth Five-Year Plan. It may, therefore, be safely argued that the growth rate since the Fifth Plan has been sustained and the State economy is on a sound growth path. The State income during the period 1950-51 to 1985-86 at 1970-71 prices increased at the rate of 3.30 per cent per annum (compound), based on semi-log regression.. The rate of growth of 4.44 per cent during the Sixth Plan period is other than the historical trend rate of growth of 3.30 per cent. Table 1.1 gives the growth of S. D. P. from 1978-79 onwards.