Guwahati, March 15 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that the state’ s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will surpass that of Punjab in three years.
Speaking in the House during the Assam Assembly’s ongoing budget session, Sarma claimed that Assam’s per capita growth is higher than the country’s average in the previous financial year.
According to Sarma, for the fiscal year 2021-2022, Assam’s per capita growth was 18.26 per cent, while the national average was at 14.24 per cent.
He also said that Assam is sustaining a debt-to-GDP ratio of 23 per cent while it is also experiencing strong economic development.
“The RBI requested that we take out a loan for Rs 22,000 crore, but we responded that we can get by with Rs 19,000 crore,” he mentioned.
“In Indian ranking, in terms of GDP Assam stands at 17 per cent and Punjab is at 16 per cent and we have overtaken Chattisgarh and Chandigarh and now we are chasing Punjab,” Sarma said.
Assam’s GDP is expected to reach Rs 4,93,000 billion this year, and according to government estimates, it would be close to Rs 5,50,000 billion in the following two years.
He further emphasised that Assam had previously relied on Central money to pay the salaries of state government personnel, but that as of last year, the government is now self-sufficient in that regard.
The Chief Minister also discussed dearness allowances, pointing out that West Bengal is still lagging behind in terms of them while the allowance from the federal government is on par with that of the state government.
–IANS
tdr/sha
