The Hindu Business Line : Kerala economy registers 6 pc growth rate

The net State Domestic Product at constant prices (1993-94) was estimated at Rs 37,031.33 crore during the year as against Rs 34,905.99 crore in 2001-02. At current prices, it amounted to Rs 83,782.01 crore (Rs 73,048.95 crore), recording a growth rate of 14.7 per cent.

According to the latest Economic Review done by the State Planning Board, the advance estimate of the State income during 2003-04 at current prices is Rs 57,021.79 crore and at constant prices Rs 39,700.74 crore.

The review points out that the computation of State income does not include remittances from outside. If the remittances were also taken into account, the income would be 20 per cent more than the present estimates.

The per capita net SDP at current prices increased to Rs 25,764 during the year under review from Rs 22,668 in the preceding year, representing a growth rate 13.7 per cent. At constant prices, the per capita income was at Rs 11,388 as against the national per capita income of Rs 11,010.

A break-up of the net SDP at constant prices showed that the tertiary sector contributed 63.8 per cent, followed by 18.7 per cent by the secondary sector and 17.5 per cent by the primary sector. At current prices, these were 58.2 per cent, 24.2 per cent and 17.6 per cent respectively.

District-wise, Ernakulam continued to have the highest income of Rs 10,428 crore at current prices, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 9,153 crore), Thrissur (Rs 8,459 crore), Kozhikode (Rs 7,639 crore), Kollam (Rs 6,737 crore) and Malappuram (Rs 6,316 crore). The lowest income of Rs 1,994 crore was recorded in Wayanad district.

In the case of per capita income also, Ernakulam district stood first with Rs 32,918 at current prices. Idukki came second with Rs 31,697, followed by Kottayam (Rs 28,622), Thrissur (Rs 27,871), Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 27,686) and Pathanamthitta (Rs 26,901). The lowest per capita income was recorded in Malappuram district with Rs 16,766.

The district-wise analysis of the rate of growth of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, revealed that the growth of primary sector ranged between 1.2 per cent and 7.9 per cent, that of the secondary sector between 10.9 per cent and 31.1 per cent and that of the tertiary sector between 16.7 per cent 17.2 per cent.

The highest growth of the primary sector was registered in Pathanamthitta district (7.9 per cent), secondary sector in Idukki district (31.1 per cent) and the tertiary sector in Thiruvananthapuram district (17.2 per cent).