>VIBRANT GUJARAT: Glimpses of the Gujarat growth story

Several impeccable records

 Gujarat is probably the only Indian state in which the ground water level has increased
over the past 10 years, driven by state government efforts towards interlinking of rivers,
etc. The state’s agriculture economy has also reported robust GDP growth of 9% over
past several years and this is much higher than all-India average of 2%. This has led to
economic development including better quality of lives for masses, including in rural
areas, etc.

 Development and fiscal health can go hand in hand. Ten years ago, Gujarat had a fiscal
deficit of Rs67b but today it has a budget surplus of Rs5b. Also, over 10 years, Gujarat’s
state electricity boards have turned in a profit of Rs4b from a loss of Rs25b, despite no
tariff hikes in the past 10 years and post discounts of Rs9b towards promotion of new
sectors.

 Gujarat has been the pioneer in terms of starting the model of professionalizing PSUs
as opposed to closure or privatization.

To read the full report: VIBRANT GUJARAT