Odisha Economic Survey 2022-23 Based On Incomplete Data To Mislead People, Says BJP

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Economic Survey 2022-23 has presented a rosy picture of the state’s economy to mislead the people as it is based on incomplete data, said BJP on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in the party office in Bhubaneswar, BJP’s state spokesman Satyabrata Panda said the survey has projected the state’s economic growth of 7.8% against national growth of 7% on the basis of the advance estimates 2022-23 while the second part of the advance estimates will be published on February 28.

“The government estimated the state’s per capita income at Rs 1,50,676 compared to national Rs 1,70,620 taking cumulative aggregate growth rate (CAGR) as the basis, but estimated the growth rate in real terms in order to mislead the public,” he said.

Quoting Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Panda claimed that Odisha’s CAGR of 5.73% between 2012 and 2021 financial year was below Gujrata, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. While the country’s growth rate has come down to 7% in 2022-23 from 8.7% in 2021-22 due to global recession, it has dropped from 11.5% to 7.8% in the state which reflects poor economic management by the government.

While the national per capita income is Rs 1,97,000, the Odisha Economic Survey has furnished the wrong figure of Rs 1,70,620. The state survey has also put the per capita growth rate at 10.9% against national 9.4%. Even if the state maintains its present growth rate, it will take 20 years to reach the real per capita income of the nation, he added.

Similarly, while 25.01% of the country’s population are poor as per multi-dimensional poverty index of the Niti Aayog, the figure is 29.35% in the state. Odisha has been ranked 20 among 28 states in the country in this context, the BJP leader said.

He further said in infrastructure development, Odisha is placed at 3rd position from the bottom in the country which reflects the economic growth. At the same time, in small and medium sector industries, the state presents a sorry figure. While 15,315 such industries have been closed between 2006-07 and 2022-23 financial years, as many as 1,29,950 workers have been rendered jobless during the period, he added.