Maharashtra share in GDP highest, but 2% dip from FY11 to FY24: Study

MUMBAI: Although Maharashtra has the highest share in the country's GDP, it has declined from 15.2% in 2010-11 to just 13% in 2020-21 and 13.3% in 2023-24, according to a working paper from the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) published in Sept. This means a decline of 2% during that span.

The paper notes that Gujarat has seen a "significant increase" in its share in India's GDP in the last two decades. Its share in national GDP rose from 7.5% in 2010-11 to 8.1% in 2022-23. It also notes that Gujarat's relative per capita income compared to the national average is higher than Maharashtra's.

The paper, titled Relative Economic Performance of Indian States: 1960-61 to 2023-24, is authored by economist Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the EAC-PM, and its joint director Aakanksha Arora. It analyses data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation .

The state's economic performance especially compared to Gujarat is expected to be a key issue raised by the opposition in the run-up to the assembly polls. However, the state had multiple govts in the two decades when its share in country's GDP declined. The state was governed by the Congress-NCP alliance from 2009 to 2014, then by the BJP-Sena alliance led by Devendra Fadnavis between 2014-19. It was ruled by the MVA alliance under Uddhav Thackeray between 2019 and 2022. And subsequently by the Mahayuti alliance under Eknath Shinde.

"Maharashtra's economic performance has remained steady throughout the period (1960-61 to 2023-24) despite a slight decline in its share over the last decade. Nevertheless, it continues to hold the highest share among all the states," the paper points out. Regarding Gujarat, the paper says, its share in national GDP remained broadly at the same levels between 1960-61 and 2000-2001, before beginning to increase rapidly.

When it comes to relative per capita income compared to the national average, Maharashtra was behind other states including Gujarat in 2023-24, the data showed.

Other states ahead of Maharashtra in relative per capita income in 2023-24 included Sikkim (319.1%), Delhi (250.8%), Telangana (193.6%), Karnataka (180.7%), Haryana (176.8%) and TN (171.1%). Sikkim reported highest relative per capita income followed by Goa which reported a figure of 290.7% for 2022-23.

The paper notes that both Maharashtra and Gujarat had per capita incomes above the national average since the 1960s.

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