States should boost biz reforms to generate higher incomes for citizens: Eco Survey

States should focus on business reforms on a priority basis to achieve buoyancies in some industrial or service sectors, the Economic Survey 2024-25 said on Friday.

The Survey specified that four states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu - account for about 43 per cent of the total industrial Gross State Value Added (GSVA).

In contrast, six states of the Northeast (excluding Sikkim and Assam), account for only 0.7 per cent of the industrial GVA.

“There is a need for focus on industrial strategies appropriate to unique geographies like the North East,” the Survey said.

There are clear patterns in the degree of industrialisation with few states like Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh able to cash on their high level of dependence on the industrial sector to generate reasonable levels of income for their people.

The degree of industrialisation varies across states, with some being better positioned to leverage their industrial sectors to generate higher income levels for their populations, according to the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The survey also pointed out that construction activity, closely linked with infrastructure development, urbanisation and real estate trends, also shows inter-state differences.

In this context, the Survey indicates, Kerala is comparatively less industrial than many other states but it is a positive outlier in construction activity, with construction contributing about half of its industrial GVA.

The Survey analysed that the mining sector contributes about 8 per cent to the total industrial output.

It specifies mining activity is highly concentrated with the top five states, that is Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Odisha, accounting for about 60 per cent of the all-state mining GSVA.

"States should make it easier for businesses to commence operations and to grow; thereby, resulting in faster convergence of living standards and per capita incomes," said the Survey.