As the State Government completes its first year in office, economic buoyancy in Assam can easily be counted among its major achievements. Despite Covid-induced stutters, fiscal managers in the State have managed to put up a show that more fancied states can envy. The twin instruments of debts and earnings have been used in a prudent way to fuel the Gross State Domestic Product of Assam.
The State GSDP had registered a double-digit growth of 13.89 % in the last fiscal at a time when most States were struggling to avoid a negative GSDP, while the total expenditure of the State Government crossed the one lakh crore mark for the first time ever in its history. Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his speech in the Assam Legislative Assembly last month, said that Centre’s devolution of Rs 26,663 crore in the fiscal 2021-22 and the rise in States tax and non-tax revenue have led to this feat, which he said has marked the entry of Assam in the big league.
He said that whereas capital expenditure has shown an increase of over 36% revenue expenditure has grown at a much-lesser rate of 16%. Citing figures, Dr. Sarma said that in the fiscal 2015-2016, the total capital expenditure in the State was Rs 2,951 crore while it was Rs 16,339 crore in the financial year ending 2021-22.
He said that this was the collective achievement of the people of Assam, while setting an ambitious target of expending Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the development trajectory of Assam.
The growth in its coffers, thanks to booming GST collection by the Centre, has consequently resulted in increased share for Assam. It has emboldened it to stick to its election promise of microfinance loan waiver while introducing additional features in its Orunodoi scheme to enhance the total relief provided to beneficiaries while driving ahead with investment plans and infrastructure projects.
“Fund management and allocation towards supporting the weakest strata of the society still remains the prime focus of the Government followed by investments to boost growth in the region,” the State Finance Minister had said during her maiden Budget speech.
The ratio of expenditure vis a vis Budget has significantly improved from 63% during 2015- 16 to well over 80 per cent in the last financial year.
In order to accelerate the pace of economic growth, the Government of Assam during 2021-22 decided to undertake several capital-intensive projects. New projects to the tune of around Rs 11,100 crore under NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance (NIDA) in rural and semi-rural areas as well as sectors like Health and Education, Rural connectivity, Agriculture and ancillary activities are underway.
The policy prescription of the Assam Government is a reform agenda focusing on three broad areas: boosting trade, increasing investments, and generating jobs; increasing resilience to frequent and severe climate related shocks, consolidate funds earmarked for green initiatives and catalyse – both public and private–green investment and focus on the development of the agriculture and tourism sectors to increase their potential.
