Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal and Uttarakhand are said to have performed better than the national average on the Composite Index of Agricultural Sustainability. File
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI
The Government of India’s Economic Survey 2024-25 found Andhra Pradesh as the “leading performer” with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.80% in the agriculture and allied sectors, excluding forestry and logging.
It was mentioned in the chapter on ‘Agriculture and food management: Sector of the future’ that Andhra Pradesh was followed by Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the second and third places among the major States with scores of 6.30% and 4.80% respectively.
Some States diversified towards crops where yields were high. Andhra Pradesh, for instance, diversified towards jowar. It was, however, observed that there was a significant potential to enhance productivity and reduce the yield gap compared to the global average.
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal and Uttarakhand were said to have performed better than the national average on the Composite Index of Agricultural Sustainability calculated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the basis of spatial mapping.
The average estimated value of the index was 0.49, which suggests that Indian agriculture was moderately sustainable. It was observed that the regional concentration of tomato production like in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Odisha made the supply chain vulnerable to disruptions.
The Economic Survey further mentioned that funds were allocated to Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry and the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI). This funding was intended to treat 3,836 hectares under the national compensatory afforestation programme.
Coming to the localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it was stated that the SDG Coordination Centres were operational in 10 States, including Andhra Pradesh. The Prerana model of education implemented in Andhra Pradesh and three other States through the Sikshana Foundation emphasised peer learning and group work, wherein small groups of four to five students collaborate on classroom activities, teaching and learning from each other.
Andhra Pradesh was said to have carried out certain reforms in the spirit of new Labour Codes such as increasing the threshold of the number of workers from 100 to 300 for prior approval of appropriate government before retrenchment / layoff / closure of establishments in factory / plantation / mining sector. The textile sector in some States was found to be adversely affected by costs, for instance, it was said that various costs were stifling the cotton business in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Under the head ‘Deregulation and economic freedom’, Andhra Pradesh had been acknowledged as one of the States that relaxed the prohibition on employing women in night shifts in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industries by instituting conditional exemptions. Works under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme had begun in Krishnapatnam industrial city. Andhra Pradesh figured in the 10th position among 28 States in the Gross State Value Added (GSVA) in the services sector.
Published – January 31, 2025 08:12 pm IST
