The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation Shri Srikant Kumar Jena has said that the Per Capita Income at the national level, which was Rs. 24,143 in the year 2004-05, stands at Rs. 54,835 in the year 2010-11, showing an increase of more than 120%. The details of State/UT-wise per capita income (Net State Domestic Product at factor cost) at current prices, for the years 2004-05 to 2009-10, as compiled and provided by the Directorates of Economics & Statistics of the States, are given in the table at Annex.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today he said, the per capita income of several States is more than the national average. However, the regional imbalance and disparity among various States and UTs in the country is largely due to historical difference in initial conditions, natural resource endowments, level of industrialization and differences in human capital indicators viz. education, health, etc. Per capita income is only an indicator of the disparity and not the cause.

The Minister said, the Government has been taking several measures to increase the per capita income of States in a balanced manner.  The Eleventh Five Year Plan (EFPY) takes cognizance of the disparities among States, regions within States. One of the basic objectives of the development planning in India is to reduce economic inequalities and raise the level of economic development in the country in a balanced manner. With a view to bring down disparities, the EFPY monitors 13 out of 27 monitorable national targets state-wise. The policy instruments in this regard include plan and non-plan transfer of resources from the Centre to the States favouring less developed states, establishment of public sector units, tax incentives for setting up of private industries in the backward regions, etc. A number of programmes have been initiated to reduce income disparity between States. These include Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), Hill Area Development Programme/ Western Ghats Development Programme, etc.

Annexure

Source: for Sl. No. 1-32 -- Directorate of Economics & Statistics of respective State Governments, and for All-India -- Central Statistics Office

***

AD/DB