Nagpur becomes 'lakhpati' in per capita district income

Published in The Hitavada CityLine on March 20, 2013

Nagpur becomes ‘lakhpati’ in per capita district income

* Nagpur district figures among six districts across Maharashtra having over Rs 1 lakh per capita district income

* Last year, Nagpur’s per capita district income was Rs 96,458

By Kartik Lokhande

MUMBAI, March 19: It is ‘Advantage Vidarbha’ in real sense, at least the Economic Survey of Maharashtra for the year 2012-13 shows it on record. The important report that indicates economic scenario has listed Nagpur among top six districts across the State that have per capita district income of Rs 1 lakh or above.

Not only Nagpur, but Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district also has shed its dubious distinction of being the most backward district of Maharashtra. As per the Economic Survey, Gadchiroli zoomed past Nandurbar and Hingoli with per capita district income of Rs 48,311. Thus, it has moved up to 32^nd rank among 34 districts in per capita district income, from the previous 34^th rank. The story is not restricted to Nagpur and Gadchiroli only, but there is improvement in economic indicators for all the districts of Vidarbha region.

With Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan giving a strong push to ambitious project of Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), and systematic projection of Vidarbha’s strengths in general and Nagpur’s plus points including central location in particular, economic activities showed a definite buoyancy. The boom in realty sector is slowly shifting towards Information Technology and IT-enabled services, service sector options, agriculture and allied activities once again. The visits of foreign delegations and trade representatives apart from investment by trade and industry giants like Reliance, Tata, Godrej also provided enough hint of Nagpur’s emergence as a lucrative investment destination. All this has been confirmed officially by the State Government in its latest Economic Survey released on Tuesday.

Some years back, during tenure of Ashok Chavan as Chief Minister, Maharashtra had set for itself a target of touching Rs 1 lakh mark in per capita income. Though the State could reach the mark of only Rs 95,339 in 2011-12, Nagpur emerged faster and surpassed the State average. As per the Economic Survey, Nagpur’s per capita district income is much higher than per capita national income of Rs 61,564. This also indicates that cost of living is higher in Nagpur than in most other parts of the State and the country. With more investments coming the way of Nagpur and Vidarbha, per capita district income will register more increase, but this will also make it necessary to chalk out action plan for percolation of wealth created in region within the region.

As per the Economic Survey, Gross State Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure in monetary terms, of all goods and services produced (without duplication) within the boundaries of any geographical area during one year. By subtracting consumption of fixed capital from respective GSDP, one can derive the Net District Domestic Product (NDDP). And, per capital district income is obtained by dividing NDDP by mid-year population of respective district.

Though there is a reason to be happy about, much needs to be taken care of. According to the Economic Survey, estimates of domestic product at district level are compiled by adopting ‘income originating approach’. Hence, the per capita district income or district domestic product estimates have ‘all the inherent limitations of State Domestic Product estimates’. Thus, the district domestic product estimates provide only a ‘broad judgement’ of income at district level, it cautions.

Where does Nagpur stand in per capita NDDP?

n Maharashtra -- Rs 95,339 

n Nagpur Division -- Rs 78,063 

n Mumbai -- Rs 1,51,608  

n Thane -- Rs 1,40,608  

n Pune -- Rs 1,40,570   

n Raigad – Rs 1,18,885

n Kolhapur – Rs 1,01,014 

n Nagpur -- Rs 1,00,663

Per capita district income for Vidarbha
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District         Per capita NDDP/district income

                    2009-10               2010-11           2011-12
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Nagpur        Rs 82,636            Rs 96,458        Rs 1,00,663

Wardha       Rs 50,735            Rs 61,391        Rs 68,085

Bhandara    Rs 47,164            Rs 57,094        Rs 60,764

Gondia        Rs 41,477            Rs 50,042        Rs 53,802

Chandrapur Rs 56,275           Rs 67,641        Rs 73,328

Gadchiroli   Rs 34,928            Rs 43,058        Rs 48,311

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Nagpur Divn Rs 61,640          Rs 73,231        Rs 78,063
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Amravati     Rs 49,692            Rs 63,270        Rs 63,467

Akola           Rs 48,580           Rs 58,627        Rs 61,423

Washim       Rs 37,984           Rs 52,075        Rs 55,200

Buldhana    Rs 37,899            Rs 45,699        Rs 50,772

Yavatmal    Rs 40,829            Rs 63,469        Rs 54,497
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Amravati Divn Rs 43,527       Rs 57,500        Rs 57,280
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