Telangana economy expected to grow at 11.7%

Telangana's economy is expected to grow at 11.7 per cent in 2015-16, Governor ESL Narasimhan said in his address to the joint session of State Legislature here today. "The Economy of State is expected to grow at 11.7 per cent in 2015-16, as per the advance estimates of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), as against the projected National growth rate of 8.6 per cent," he said. "Telangana's GSDP is estimated to be Rs 5.83 lakh crore in 2015-16 at current prices, which marks an important milestone in the growth of the state economy," he said. Although the Primary sector involving agriculture and allied activities is likely to register a meagre growth of 0.8 per cent due to adverse seasonal conditions in 2015-16, the Secondary sector, involving industries and manufacturing, is likely to grow at 8.3 per cent. The Services sector is likely to grow at 14.9 per cent over the previous year, he said. The Budget session of the State Legislature began today with the Governor making his customary address. As per the advance estimates for 2015-16, the per capita income of the state at current prices is likely to increase to Rs 1,43,023 from Rs 1,29,182 in 2014-15 as compared to the National per capita income of Rs 93,231. The Governor's address elucidated the TRS government's major schemes and programmes like Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhageeratha, 'Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak', double-bed room housing for poor and social security pensions. On the industrial front, the government has decided to set up three Aerospace parks to meet the growing demand in the aerospace and defence sector, the Governor said. The government also plans to establish "the largest textile park and clusters in textile sector" at Warangal. Noting that the IT sector contributes substantially to the state GSDP and to the employment, Narasimhan said the state has recorded huge exports of Rs 68,258 crores through 1300 IT units, including 500 global companies. "This marks an impressive growth of 16 per cent which is the highest in the country," he said. Observing that the government has given high priority to maintenance of law and order, he said it is proposed to install one lakh CCTV cameras in Hyderabad. The government is targeting to achieve a growth of 15 per cent in the GSDP in 2016-17 to make Telangana the number one state in the country, he added.