As the state of Bihar finally conclude the 3-phase election today, the state, just like almost every other in the country is facing a severe economic downfall which has been made worse by a massive wave of reverse migration that has seen more than thousands of people return back home to ensure safety and financial security amid the Pandemic. According to major news sources, approximately 30 lakh migrant workers have returned to Bihar and the state’s already high unemployment rate has risen to a massive 46.6 percent during April 2020. These statistics are scary, but conceal the growth that the state has witnessed in the last 10 years.
According to Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, the state has experienced an average of 10 percent growth over the last 3 years which is, surprisingly, higher than that of the national average.
The election promised and delivered on it a battle of proxies fought between the former and present allies, which was fought, majorly on the state’s economic conditions. The state has improved in the last five years in terms of growth of the gross state domestic product (GSDP), agriculture, expenditure on health and education, as well as infrastructure. However, Bihar’s legacy problems such as minimal industrialization, clean water, sanitation, open defecation, rural housing, and microfinance for small and marginal farmers continue.
The state has continued to remain heavily affected by low income and growth in the industrial sector. Bihar’s revenue receipts, meanwhile, have consistently fallen short of budgeted estimates. The high of Rs 14,823 crore in 2017-18 had fallen to less than half, Rs 6,897 crore, in 2018-19. In the beginning of the 2015 term for the assembly, the industrial sector grew at 7.1%. This was very much below the national average of 30%.
The growth in agriculture and allied sectors, which have been a priority for the JD(U) government, has been slow yet steady. About 70% of Bihar’s workforce is dependent on agriculture. The share of agriculture in the GSDP stood at 20% in 2017-18, up from 18% five years ago. With an average annual growth rate of 4.4% over the past five years, the production of major crops like maize, rice and wheat has grown despite a fall in the net sown area.
According to various articles and op-eds, agriculture has also done well despite the government’s own fluctuating contribution. In 2015-16, the total expenditure on agriculture and allied activities stood at Rs 4,119.9 crore, or 11% of the state’s total spend on economic services. In 2016-17, this came down to Rs 2,414.4 crore, while in the following fiscal, it jumped back to Rs 5.724.1 crore. Public expenditure on agricultural research has also seen a decline over the past five years.
Microfinance to small and marginal farmers remains an issue — despite them making up 91% of the state’s farming community, holding an average landholding of 0.4 hectares. Looking at the bright side, the state of Bihar who has been historically known to be in the lowest levels of human development indexes like health and education, has been catching up. For the year 2020-2021, the Bihar government had allocated a whooping 39 Crore budget for education, sports and culture. This is substantially higher than the previous allocation of 22 crore rupees. The state has been trying to stem its high dropout rates, which stood at 52.5% for girls and 59% for boys at the secondary school level in 2015-16.
"The Government’s budget of Rs. 10,602 crore for health and family welfare program's in 2020-21 is more than double the Rs 4,971.6 crore allocation in 2015-16. The spending on health and family welfare in 2020-21 is likely to be considerably higher due to the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from the expenditure as Bihar tries to ramp up its district and referral hospitals, as well as the number of health centers from 114 per 10 lakh people currently."
– The Indian Express.
In conclusion, the economic progress has been slow. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see who the people of Bihar choose to lead them for the next 5 years. Will it be the young Tejaswi Yadav or the incumbent, yet experienced Nitish Kumar.
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