Telangana has emerged as the state with the highest per capita income (PCI) in India while Maharashtra is at the six position, behind Karnataka, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. On the other hand, the debt burden of Maharashtra is among the highest in the country. This stark reality has been highlighted by the Economic Survey of Maharashtra, 2023-24. It was presented to the legislature on Thursday, the opening day of the last session of the house. The state’s economy is expected to grow by 7.6 per cent, against 6.8 per cent last year, the Survey has predicted. The state’s PCI for the preceding year is estimated at Rs.277,603 against Rs.252,389 pegged for 2022-23. Similarly, the national average PCI was Rs.169,496, which increased to Rs. 183,236 over the past year.
Among the most debt-ridden states across the country, Tamil Nadu was at the top of the chart with its outstanding debts, as per the budget estimates for 2022-23, standing at Rs.7.54 lakh crore. It was followed by the country’s largest state in terms of population, Uttar Pradesh at Rs.7.10 lakh crore. The outstanding liabilities of Maharashtra, the country’s largest economy, were Rs. 6.29 lakh crore. It was followed by West Bengal (Rs. 6 lakh crore), Rajasthan (Rs. 5.37 lakh crore) and Karnataka (Rs.5.35 lakh crore).
The Survey has revealed that Maharashtra’s public debt is estimated at Rs 7.11 lakh crore in 2023-24 against Rs 6.29 lakh crore in 2022-23, a rise of 13 per cent. However, though the public debt has increased to 17.6 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), it is well within the prescribed limitation of 25 percent of GSDP, as per the Medium Term Fiscal Policy. The state will have to shell out towards interest payment Rs. 48578 crore, which was Rs.41689 crore during the previous year. This jump is of 16.52 per cent.
The state’s GSDP for 2023-24 at current prices has been projected at Rs.40,44,251 crore and at real prices at Rs.24,10,898 crore. The average share of the state in the all-India nominal GDP continues to be the highest. It is estimated to be at 13.9 percent. “The proportion of fiscal deficit to GSDP is 2.8 percent, the revenue deficit to GSDP is 0.5 percent and debt stock to GSDP is 17.6 percent, the Survey has recorded.
The total anticipated expenditure for annual schemes in the last financial year is Rs. 231,651 crore of which Rs.20188 crore is towards district annual schemes. The revenue receipts are expected to be Rs.486,116 crore for 2023-24 against Rs. 405,678 crore in the previous fiscal. As per the Survey, Maharashtra’s revenue expenditure for the given period is Rs. 505,647 crore, compared to Rs.407,614 crore the year before.
The state’s revenue receipts are estimated at Rs. 486,116 crore against Rs. 405,678 crore. Of the collection, the tax revenue is estimated at Rs.396,052 crore. This will comprise Rs.326,398 crore from state taxes and Rs.69654 crore due to the state’s share in Central taxes. The non-tax revenue, including Central grants, is estimated at Rs.90064 crore. In view of the estimates formed earlier, actual revenue receipts during 2023-24 till February were Rs.373,924 crore (76.90 percent of the estimate). The state’s revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs.505,647 crore against Rs.407,614 crore earlier. Actual revenue expenditure during 2023-24 till February this year was Rs.335,761 crore (66.40 percent of the estimate).
The annual credit plan size for the state’s priority sector for 2023-24 is Rs.6.51 lakh crore. Of the total, the share of the agriculture and allied activities sector is 25.90 percent. The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMe) and the khadi and village industry sector is receiving the largest share at 55.60 percent. The agriculture and allied activities sector contributes about 12 per cent of the GSDP and continues to be the largest employer.
Describing the agro-economic scenario, the Survey has stated that Maharashtra received 86.40 per cent of the normal rainfall during the monsoon in 2023. While 19 talukas received excess rains, 190 talukas received normal rainfall whereas 146 talukas recorded below average rainfall.
During the Kharif season 2023-24, sowing took place on more than 155.64 lakh hectares. For the current season, the production of cereals (less 23 percent), pulses (less 10 percent), oilseeds (less 2 percent) and sugarcane (less 17 percent) is expected to decrease overall. The yield of cotton, one of the major cash crops, is expected to rise by 3 per cent over 2022-23.
During the rabi season 2023-24, sowing has taken place on 58.60 lakh hectares across the state. Based on this figure, the production of cereals and pulses is expected to go down, respectively, by 5 percent and 4 percent. On the other hand, the production of oil seeds is expected to increase by 13 per cent over the past year, the Survey has hoped. Due to the adverse weather, scarcity situation during the kharif season 2023 affected 40 talukas in 15 districts. This calamity hit 22.66 lakh hectares of agricultural and horticultural lands. The crops in such areas were affected due to the weather conditions and compensation of over Rs.2440 crore was sanctioned by the government. Between November 2023 and January 2024, compensation worth Rs.2278 crore was sanctioned to 23.96 lakh farmers involving over 12.89 lakh hectares of the affected area.
One of the leading states in the horticulture sector, the cultivation this year is expected to be on 22.40 lakh hectares of land, leading to the production which is estimated to be 327.80 lakh metric tons.
The Survey has maintained studied silence about the total irrigation cover’s percent against total cultivable area. It merely says that Maharashtra’s irrigation potential created up to June 2022 by major, medium and minor projects was 55.60 lakh hectares. During 2022-23, the actual irrigated area stood at 42.33 lakh hectares, the Survey said.
The Economic Survey has proclaimed that Maharashtra continues to top in terms of the FDI inflows across the country. During 2022-23, exports from the state contributed to 16 per cent of the total exports from the country, it said. Maharashtra, thus, has faced stiff competition from Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in terms of the FDI inflows. It was recently claimed that during 2023-24, the FDI inflow in Maharashtra was Rs.125,101 crore as compared to Rs.118,422 crore in 2022-23.
The leading state of India, Maharashtra will have to better its performance in various sectors to ensure balanced development of all its regions. This is the clear message of the Survey 2023-24.
A Column By
Dilip Chaware – Senior Editor
A media professional for 43 years, with extensive experience of writing on
a variety of subjects; he is also a documentary producer and book author.
