State per capita income grows 27% during 11th Plan

Orissa's per capita income has grown by 27 per cent in the first four years of the 11th Plan (2007-12). The state's per capita income has moved up substantially from Rs 20,194 in 2006-07 to Rs 25,708 in 2010-11.

This was informed by minister for Planning & Coordination Usha Devi in the state assembly

The state's per capita income is projected at Rs 26,900 in 2011-12 as per the Economic Survey report for 2011-12 released recently by the department of Planning & Coordination.

However, district wise scrutiny of the state's per capita income reflects a lopsided trend. Angul has wrested the top slot at Rs 20,500 followed by Jharsuguda (Rs 19800) and Sundergarh (Rs 15700). Nabarangpur in south Orissa fares the worst in the per capita index with a per capita income of Rs 5800 and Malkangiri has scored marginally higher at Rs 6800.

The state is gradually closing in on the gap with the pan-India average (Rs 35993) in terms of per capita income.

With the exception of Bihar (Rs 13632) and Jharkhand (Rs 21734), neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh (Rs 40366), West Bengal (Rs 32228) and Chhattisgarh (Rs 27156) have higher per capita incomes than Orissa.

According to data of Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Maharashtra leads all states with the highest income per head standing at Rs 62729 followed by Haryana (Rs 59221) and Gujarat (Rs 52708).

Besides recording growth in per capita income, the state has also witnessed reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line. As per the methodology adopted by the Tendulkar committee, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in the state has slumped 20.2 per cent during 2004-05 to 2009-10, the minister said.

As many as 15.32 million people in the state were living below the poverty line (BPL), according to data of National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 2009-10.