Himachal Pradesh Budget: Per Capita Income Up By 10%, Pegged At Rs 2.01 Lakh

After the deadly second wave of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy of Himachal Pradesh, the Per Capita Income (PCI)  is estimated to record a jump of 10.1 per cent to Rs 2.01 lakh in 2021-22 from Rs 1.83 lakh last year. 

On Thursday, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presented the Economic Survey for 2021-22 in the Vidhan Sabha. According to the survey, Himachal is likely to witness a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 8.3 per cent amid the Coronavirus pandemic. 

"In real terms, the increase in gross state domestic product (GSDP) pre-COVID and post-COVID that is 2019-20 to 2021-22 is 2.7 per cent. In several sectors of the economy, pre-pandemic levels of output have been crossed," stated the Economic Survey 2020-21 tabled in the state's Assembly on Friday.

With a jump of 10.1 per cent, the PCI is expected to be at Rs 2,01,854 as compared to Rs 1,83,286 last year. Talking about national PCI, it stands at Rs 51,528.

The rural and urban consumer price indices for inflation from April to December 2021 stand at 6.1 and 5.2 per cent respectively compared to 4.8 and 7.6 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, the tourism sector which was affected hugely by COVID-19 witnessed an 81 per cent decline in tourist arrivals in 2020 however, according to the latest data, the situation is on the path of improvement as there was an increase of 75.44 per cent in the tourist inflow up to December 2021. 

After tourism, agriculture and allied sectors in the state impacted by the pandemic are likely to see a growth of 8.7 per cent as compared to a negative growth of 8.6 per cent last year while the services sector is expected to grow by 6.3 per cent. 

Thakur led BJP government in the state saw an increase in expenditure on social services including health and education. The government has increased the budgetary allocation for the health sector to 5.93 per cent from 5.52 per cent in 2020-21.