Sikkim tops NE states in per capita income, Tripura 2nd

Agartala: Sikkim topped among the northeastern states in per capita income with Rs 3.17 lakh while Tripura with Rs 1.54 lakh attained an “excellent increase in per capita earnings”, a minister said here on Monday.

According to Tripura Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath, among the eight northeastern states, Sikkim and Tripura have achieved major success in per capita income and GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product).

Quoting the government documents and economists, the minister said that the per capita income in Sikkim is Rs 3.17 lakh followed by Tripura with Rs 1.54 lakh, Mizoram Rs 1.41 lakh, Arunachal Pradesh Rs 1.27 lakh, Nagaland Rs 1.02 lakh, Meghalaya Rs 81,000, Assam Rs 74,000 and Manipur Rs 65,000.

“In 2017-18, when the Left Front government ran the state, Tripura’s per capita income was Rs 1.05 lakh. Because of the good governance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Tripura rose to 16th position from the previous 21st position among the 37 states and union territories in the country,” Nath told IANS.

He said that after the completion of the five-year term of the BJP led government, Tripura’s per capita income would be Rs 2.26 lakh in 2022-23 and the GSDP would be Rs 95,46,333 crore.

According to the minister, the state’s current GSDP is Rs 63,466 crore against Rs 44,161 crore in 2017-18, when the Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front was in power.

He said Tripura’s current per year growth is 14.45 per cent.

The new government has taken several steps to boost the state’s economy by mobilising available resources.

“The total tax collection has been increased from Rs 1,915 crore in 2017-18 fiscal to Rs 2,338 crore in the current fiscal year (2019-20), a net increase of 21.82 per cent.

“The BJP led government now governing the state had to cope with the Rs 12,902 crore loan burden left by the previous Marxist government. We had to pay Rs 5.56 crore per day to repay the loan and its interest,” he added.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb while addressing a function in Agartala said that with the series of pro-active economic measures taken by the BJP led state government, Tripura’s per capita income would cross the national average.

“The main role of the state government is to achieve self sufficiency of resources and self reliance in vital sectors,” Deb said and emphasised on generating income through Self Help Groups (SHGs), cooperatives, micro, small and medium industries.

“The state is developing various infrastructure paving the way for increasing employment generation for the common people. Tripura received 13 prizes at the national level in less than two years of BJP governance for its outstanding performance in the field of rural development,” the Chief Minister added.

IANS