New data with Central Statistical Organisation suggest, Gujarat growth rate worse than 16 major states

Growth rate in 2012-13 at current prices. Source: CSO

By A Representative
New revised data handed over to the Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Government of India, by all state governments, and in possession of Counterview, suggest that Gujarat’s growth rate for 2012-13 was 12.69 per cent (at current prices, without deducting inflation) as against 9.52 per cent, as earlier reported on the basis of Planning Commission data (click HERE). Even then, the data suggest that Gujarat’s performance was worse than as many as 16 out of 20 major Indian states, and better than just three states -- Assam (12.56 per cent), Punjab (11.85 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (11.90 per cent). The Gujarat government has not released its data yet.
The states which had a better growth rate than Gujarat are Andhra Pradesh (13.86 per cent), Bihar (26.96 per cent), Chhattisgarh (15.62 per cent), Haryana (14.33 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (13.48 per cent), Jammu & Kashmir (14.93 per cent), Jharkhand (14.58 per cent), Karnataka (14.30 per cent), Kerala (13.46 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (19.41 per cent), Maharashtra (14.43 per cent), Odisha (19.05 per cent), Rajasthan (13.83 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (13.24 per cent), Uttarakhand (16.68 per cent), and West Bengal (15.23 per cent).”
The only “consolation” for Gujarat is that it is not the “worst” – and has "managed to defeat” three major states in the race for growth rate, one of whom is a poor state, Assam, and the other two are Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Yet, if the data handed over to the CSO are any indication, even after following this “revision” by most states, the Gujarat government has refused to hand over the advanced estimate (AE) for 2013-14, though large number of states have already done it. Last year, the AE for 2012-13 was released in February 2013. “Only a top ex-official of state planning department, known for his skills in handling data, should know why”, a senior official told Counterview.
Insiders say, instead of revising data upwards, which most states have done, Gujarat officials were to forced to “manipulate” its data downwards for two years (2010-11 and 2011-12) in order to show that Gujarat’s growth rate in 2012-13 was as not the worst in India, but was a better “somewhat better.” A senior official, requesting anonymity, told Counteview, Gujarat’s “manipulation happened in February 2014”, after it was “internally found” that the growth rate worked out by the state planning department suggested a mere 9.52 per cent rise at current prices, lowest in India.
The exercise in “adjusting” data continued for quite some. A former additional chief secretary, Government of Gujarat, known for his economic skills, allegedly supervised the exercise. The national Planning Commission had been asking for current price data from Gujarat officials for 2012-13 data, but it refused to part with it for entire last year. The result was, while all states handed over 2012-13 data, found reflected in August 2013 Planning Commission documents, Gujarat government did not.
The data Gujarat government, handed over to the CSO, which have still not been reflected in the Planning Commission site, suggest how Gujarat revised downwards growth rates for 2010-11 and 2011-12 to give an “even picture of balanced growth" for the past three years. “The result is that, now there are two set of data – one on the Planning Commission website, and another, those that have been handed over to the CSO, but not reflected on the official Gujarat government website, as still the growth rate would be worse than most states, problematic in a poll year”, this official said.
The Planning Commission-approved data suggest that Gujarat’s growth rate for 2010-11 was Rs 530,430 crore, and for 2011-12 Rs 611,767 crore. The revised data “handed over” to the CSO were Rs 521,519 crore and Rs 594,563 crore respectively. The result was, while the Planning Commission data suggested a growth rate of 22.99 per cent in 2010-11 and 15.33 per cent in 2011-12, following the new update, the growth rate for both the years went down to 20.93 per cent and 14.01 per cent, which wasn’t bad enough to show that Gujarat grew relatively better three years and better than a few states.
“The manipulation has helped increase the growth rate for 2012-13 from 9.52 per cent to 12.69 per cent”, the official said, adding, “There is a failure to understand in many quarters that if the 2012-13 data (Rs 670,017 crore, released by state finance minister Nitin Patel during his budget speech in Gujarat state assembly) are calculated against the Planning Commission data for 2011-12 (Rs 597,573), the growth rate would be 9.52 per cent. But if this is calculated against the data handed over to the CSO, the growth rate for 2012-13 would be 12.69 per cent”, the official said.

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Civil society groups unite to oppose Rajasthan anti-conversion Bill, urge Governor to withhold assent

By A Representative A coalition of civil society organisations, rights groups and faith-based associations has strongly condemned the passage of the “Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Bill, 2025” in the State Assembly on September 9, calling it draconian, unconstitutional and a direct attack on the fundamental rights of minorities. The statement was released at a press conference held at Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, where representatives of more than a dozen organisations declared that they would actively lobby against the bill and urged the Governor not to grant assent, but instead refer it to the President of India under Article 200 of the Constitution.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

From Gujarat to Gaza: Tracing India’s growing complicity in Israel’s war economy

By Rajiv Shah I have been forwarded a report titled “Profit and Genocide: Indian Investments in Israel”. It has been prepared by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) and authored by Hajira Puthige. The report was released following the Government of India’s signing of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Israel.

Warning bells for India: Tribal exploitation by powerful corporate interests may turn into international issue

By Ashok Shrimali* Warning bells are ringing for India. Even as news drops in from Odisha that Adivasi villages, one after another, are rejecting the top UK-based MNC Vedanta's plea for mining, a recent move by two senior scholars Felix Padel and Samarendra Das suggests the way tribals are being exploited in India by powerful international and national business interests may become an international issue. In fact, one has only to count days when things may be taken up at the United Nations level, with India being pushed to the corner. Padel, it may be recalled, is a major British authority on indigenous peoples across the world, with several scholarly books to his credit.

Counterview

Search This Blog