The resolution of the Pushkar Singh Dhami government to double the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Uttarakhand by five years i.e. by the year 2026-27 has started taking shape on the ground. In the 20-month tenure of the government, the size of the GSDP i.e. the economy has increased by 1.3 times. The effect of this increase was that the unemployment rate in the state decreased and more persons got employment in tourism, manufacturing and government sector. At the same time, the per capita income of the state has increased by 26 percent in two years. Talking to reporters at the Media Center in the Secretariat on Wednesday, Planning Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram said that the government set a target of doubling the GSDP in five years in the year 2022. The GSDP in the year 2021-22 was 2.74 lakh crores. In a period of about two years, the size of the economy in the form of GSDP in the year 2023-24 is estimated at 3.46 lakh crores. This is 1.3 times more than the year 2021-22. More than 30 policies and more than 150 investments and various sectoral initiatives of the state government have proved helpful in increasing the GSDP.
He said that the per capita income of the state was Rs 2.05 lakh in the year 2021-22. It increased to Rs 2.60 lakh in the year 2023-24. In the last two years, per capita income has increased from 1,50,906 to 1.84 lakh. This increase is 26 percent. At the national level, per capita income increased by 20 percent. The Planning Secretary said that the strengthening of the economy in the state has had an impact on employment generation. According to the PLF (Periodic Labor Force) survey of the Government of India, the labor force rate of the state in the age group of 15 to 29 in the year 2022-23 was 43.7 percent, which increased to 49 percent in the year 2023-24. Similarly, the work population ratio of the state has increased from 37.5 percent to 44.2 percent. The labor force participation rate in the age group of 15 to 59 has increased from 60.1 to 64.4 percent and the work population ratio has increased from 57.2 to 61.2 percent. The labor force participation rate of all people above 15 years of age in the state has increased from 56 to 60.7 percent and the work population ratio has increased from 53.5 to 58.1.
Benefit of promoting Lakhpati Didi Yojana and women self-help groups
The participation of women in employment has increased in the state. The participation of women in the work population ratio has increased from 26.1 percent to 32.4 percent in the age group of 15 to 29 and from 37 percent to 43.7 percent in the age group above 15. The work population ratio of women has also increased due to the promotion of Lakhpati Didi Yojana and women self-help groups.
Reduction in unemployment rate
The unemployment rate in the age group of 15 to 29 has decreased in the state. The unemployment rate of the state was 14.2 percent in the year 2022-23, which has come down to 9.8 percent in the year 2023-24. The unemployment rate in Uttarakhand has decreased by 4.4 percent in one year. The new policies of the state government and amendments in old policies and programs run for employment and self-employment have also increased the GSDP. Director General of Information Banshidhar Tiwari, Additional Chief Executive Officer of CPGG Dr. Manoj Pant were present on this occasion.
