Declining mining sector's growth in J'khand disturbing: Report

A decline in growth rate in Jharkhand's mining sector is "disturbing" and the state has to play a pro-active role for its progress to ensure an era of mineral development, says an Assocham report.
"Jharkhand is known to be a mineral rich state. Therefore, the considerable decline in growth rate in this sector from 29.5 per cent in 2010-11 to 8.4 per cent in 2013-14 is disturbing," the report said.
Assocham's National General Secretary D S Rawat today released the study 'Delay in investment implementation in Jharkhand: An Analysis' conducted by its Economic Research Bureau.
The study report says more attention needs to be given to the mining sector as not only does it contribute to GDP but also it acts as a catalyst for the growth of other core industries like power, steel, cement, which in turn, are critical for overall development of the economy.

Observing that mining sector is interlinked with industrial development, the study points out that the security of raw material is of prime importance and as such the pro-active role of the state government is called for to ensure an era of mineral development.
It added that policies to enhance the efficiency of the mining activities are needed in the face of the state ranking on the last rung amid top 20 states with a meagre 1.2 per cent compounded annual growth rate registered by it in mining during 2004-05 and 2013-14.

The Assocham study pointed out the industrial share of the state GDP has also seen a decline from 42 per cent in 2010-11 to 37.5 per cent in 2013-14.

Jharkhand's contribution to the country's gross domestic product during the decadal period 2004-15 has also dropped from 2 per cent in 2004-05 to 1.9 per cent in 2013-14, thereby showcasing the sluggish economic growth in the state, the report claims.
The study also suggested to dealing with the sluggish growth rate on urgent basis by addressing constraints and bottlenecks to realise the vision of an inclusive and sustainable growth.
"....The state government needs to adopt a better strategy for growth and also fiscal management thereby leveraging its strengths to realise its potential," the report said quoting Rawat.
The study also claimed that new investments attracted by Jharkhand each year have also seen a sharp decline from Rs 1 lakh crore in 2005-06 to Rs 33,000 crore in 2014-15.

Besides, the state's share in new investments attracted by various sectors across the country has declined from about 15 per cent in 2005-06 to just three per cent in 2014-15, the study finds.