Five Decades Of Andhra Pradesh

FIVE DECADES OF ANDHRA PRADESH November 1st, always has been the day to introspect, retrospect and analyze plans for a prospective future. On this day fifty years back, Andhra Pradesh had its genesis, with the erstwhile Hyderabad and Andhra States into a single geographical entity. The State is a repository of rich natural resources with copious green wealth, bounteous mineral assets and a profusion of rivers and streams crisscrossing the landscape satiating the soil and quenching the needs of the populace. It is well known that large and rapidly growing population is generally conducive to economic development up to a certain stage mainly, because of its growing labour force and expanding markets, but after a certain limit population can become an obstacle to economic development owing to heavy dependency load and less capacity to save and invest. The population of Andhra Pradesh according to 1951 Population Census was 31.11 million which rose steadily to 76.21 million as per 2001 Census. However, the share of rural population which was 82.6 per cent in 1951 dwindled to 72.7 per cent as per 2001 Census. Males constitutes a major chunk of population. The decennial growth of population in the State which was 14.02 per cent in 1951 though increased to 24.20 in 1991, improved to 14.58 as per 2001 Census which was made possible to the implementation of family welfare programmes in the State. The Work Participation Rate as per 1951 Census in the State as a whole was 37.05 increased to as high as 51.87 in 1961. According to 2001 Census it was 45.79. The Work Participation Rate among males as per 2001 Census was 56.23 while among females it was 35.11. Amongst the major States in the country, the WPR was highest in Andhra Pradesh. The dependency rate (0-14 years plus 60 and above) was 39.78 as per 2001 Census. The sex ratio is mainly a biological phenomenon and environmental factors affect very little. The sex ratio is defined as number of females per thousand males. The over all sex ratio in the State declined from 986 in 1951 Census to 978 in 2001 Census. Vital statistics are facts and figures dealing with birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate etc. The vital statistics revealed the changing pattern of the population of a State expressed in terms of births and deaths. The difference between the birth rate and the death rate represent the natural rate of increase of population per year per thousand people. The birth rate which was 28.6 per thousand in 1957 improved to 19.0 in 2004. Death rate declined from 15 per thousand of population to 7 in 2004. Therefore, the natural rate of increase of population which was 13.6 in 1957 improved to 12 in 2004. The infant mortality rate which was 92.6 per thousand live births in 1957 has been estimated to have declined to 59 in 2004. Agriculture is the bedrock of the State’s economy. Out of the total population, as stated above over 72.7 per cent of the total population in the State live in rural areas eking their livelihood from agriculture and allied activities. Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh has made great strides in the course of the last half a century of planned development. There has been a major transformation of forming from traditional to the modern with lakhs

of farmers, including the small and the marginal, who have become increasingly science and technology conscious fully participating to achieve the role of green revolution in the State. A glance at the land utilization classification, it has been emerged very clearly that stagnation of land and cultivation is an accepted fact. In fact the plan documents openly confessed that a large increase in net area sown is neither desirable nor feasible. The non desirability of such an increase probably stems from the fact that the State economy is under going a structural change wherein the secondary and tertiary sectors are becoming more important. For a better understanding of trends of land utilization, three broad categories have been derived from the nine categories for which information is available. These are area not available for cultivation ( sum of forests, area under non agriculture use and barren and unculturable waste), total cultivable area (sum of net area sown, all fallows and culturable waste) and area not under crop cultivation but under use (sum of tree crops and pastures). Area not available for cultivation in the State which was 96.66 lakh hectares in 1956-57 increased to 108.98 lakh hectares in 2005-06 while cultivable area which was 157.78 lakh hectares declined slightly to 155.88 lakh hectares in 2005.06. On the other hand, area not under crop cultivation but under use was drastically dwindled from 14.68 lakh hectares to 9.54 lakh hectares during the same period. The gross cropped area in the State as a whole increased from 124.44 lakh hectares in 1956-57 to 133.62 lakh hectares in 2005-06. Area under food crops accounted for a lion’s share of 65.9 per cent and the rest 34.1 per cent under non food crops. Irrigation to agriculture is what power is to industry and what drinking water is to human being. Being a predominantly agricultural state, Andhra Pradesh gave trop priority to irrigation. Andhra Pradesh is aptly called a river state, as nearly 75 per cent of its territory is covered by the basins of three big rivers viz., the Godavari, Krishna and Pennar apart from Nagavali and Vamshadara. The availability of water in adequate quantities and at the right time, is one of the basic determinants of agricultural prosperity in the State. A major impediment to the full exploitation of the possibilities of intensive agriculture has been the lack of assured and dependable water supply throughout the year. Irrigation can afford security against the vagaries of rainfall. In the view of experts irrigation offers the promise of dramatic improvement in agricultural performance. The gross irrigated area in the State which was 33.88 lakh hectares in 195657 increased to 60.92 lakh hectares in 1998-99, thereafter with fluctuations stood at 59.96 lakh hectares in 2005-06. Irrigated area under wells (Tube wells and other wells put together) accounted for a major share of 46.6 per cent in 2005-06 followed by canals (37.2 per cent). Due to the improvement of irrigation facilities, the food grains production in the State increased from 58.92 lakh tonnes in 1956-57 to an ever record level of 169.50 lakh tonnes in 2005-06. Of this, production of rice accounted for 69 per cent. The Government accorded top priority to irrigation sector by providing the highest allocation in the plan and decided to complete the pending irrigation projects on war footing by implementing the ‘JalaYagnam’ programme in order to change the State into “Harithandhra Pradesh”

Andhra Pradesh was a late entrant in the industrial horizon of India . Many industries have come up in the State from 1960s onwards. In the year 1966, the State was rocked by an agitation for setting up Steel Plant at Visakhapatnam which was conceded by the Government of India. Now the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is not only recording profit but also providing huge employment. Now the industrial spectrum of Andhra Pradesh encompasses engineering, chemical, petro chemical, mineral processing and the frontier areas of electronics and information technology. The Index Numbers of Industrial Production in the State during 2005-06 was 739.14. The New Industrial Policy announced by the Government is expected to yield fruitful results for setting up new industries in the State. The Government is also offering infrastructural facilities are initiating several steps for attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Andhra Pradesh is a front runner in power reforms in the country. It is among the first states to constitute an Electricity Regulatory Commission to fix the tariff and monitor its implementation. The State stands first in regard to power, based on CRISIL Rating and has a Plant Load Factor of 89 per cent. The Per Capita Consumption of power in the State at the end of First Five Year Plan which was 7 kwh which increased to 574 kwh by the end of 2004-05. Recently the AP TRANSCO was chosen as the most admired organization in the State sector and received “ Expert Choice Award 2006”. The problem of industrial peace common to both developed and under developed States. The magnitude of the problem, however, varies from State to State depending upon the economic, political and social environment. The number of industrial workstoppages, workers involved and mandays lost in a particular period are indicators of labour management relations in industries. The growing aspirations of the working class, the changing social structure and the present milieu through the society is passing all result in a greater cause for estrangement in labour management relations and the consequent strikes and lockouts with deleterious effects on the growth rate of production. Efforts are made by the State Government to provide the working class with suitable amenities. The number of mandays lost in industrial workstoppages in the State during 1957 were 1.51 lakhs increased to 36.60 lakhs in 1994 mainly due to industrial unrest in jute industry followed by sugar, cotton textiles, paper mills etc. The number of mandays lost in industrial workstoppages in 2005 were only 6.8 lakhs. One of the important objectives of our plans was to provide large scale employment to the large multitude of people. The number of persons on the live register of Employment Exchanges gives an idea of the trend of unemployment subject to certain limitations. Employment Exchanges cover mainly urban areas. Not all unemployed register their names in Exchanges. Further, some already employed get registered for better employment. Despite implementation of number of employment programmes, the number of unemployed in the State rose from 61,034 in 1957 to 23.76 lakhs in 2004. Of this, educated unemployed accounted for a major share. The implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) is expected to provide large employment to the rural masses. The establishment of Pharmacity in Visakhapatnam , Fabcity in Hyderabad is

expected to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed qualified youth. As per the directions of the Central Statistical Organisation, The State Government undertook the First Economic Census in 1977 and subsequently conducted such surveys and the latest one is the Fifth Economic Census 2005 which covered all entrepreneurial activities throughout the State (except crop production and plantation). As per the results, there were 40.23 lakh enterprises of which 25.7 per cent relate to agricultural enterprises. The total number of persons employed were 88.70 lakhs of which 43.8 per cent were hired workers. Education holds the key to the development of human personality in all aspects, through providing knowledge, builds up and strengthens in individual’s self confidence and ability. It also enables him to acquire skill. In the modern society, an individual can not hope to reach any status in the social structure unless he is educated. Whatever way it is viewed, education is a sine qua non for development – material, intellectual and spiritual. The literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh which was only 15.21 as per 1951 Census increased to 60.47 as per 2001 Census. Steps have been initiated to achieve total literacy in the State and various programmes such as Badi Baata are being implemented. The number of primary schools rose from 29132 in 1956-57 to 62159 in 2005-06. The pupil enrolled in these schools were 24.94 lakhs in 1956-57 rose to 53.98 lakhs in 2005-06 and teachers employed were 77827 in 1956-57 increased to 166790 in 2005-06. The number of upper primary schools in the State during 1956-57 were 273 which increased to 17290 in 2005-06 while the pupil enrolled were 84000 in 1956-57 rose to 31.72 lakhs in 2005-06. While the teachers employed in these schools rose from 3883 in 1956-57 to 106215 in 2005-06. The number of higher secondary schools rose from 733 in 1956-57 to 15535 in 2005-06. The pupil enrolled rose from 3.82 lakhs in 1956-57 to 49.42 lakhs in 2005-06 while the teachers employed rose from 16164 in 1956-57 to 146502 in 2005-06. However, the drop out rates between I-X was 63.67. Among Scheduled Tribes, it was 81.76 and scheduled castes 70.24. According to 2001 Census, there were 13 lakh child labour in the State. Recently the Government on 10th October, 2006 passed an Act banning child labour in the State. There were 277 engineering colleges in the State with a total intake of 95802. The vital importance of Medical & Health Services for development has always been recognized in our State. The expenditure incurred on medical and health services under revenue account rose from Rs.2.64 crores in 1956-57 to Rs.1316 crores in 2005-06 as per revised estimates. The number of hospitals and dispensaries in the State rose from 396 in 1956-57 to 3220 in 2004-05 and the doctors from 1094 to 9102 in 2004-05. Recently the people of the State were affected by viral fevers such as Malaria, Chikungunya and Dengue. The Government has started “Operation Dengue” to combat this infectious disease and sanctioned Rs.40 lakhs to each district. The nervous system of any economy is transport. Roads are the most important means of transport in the State and being predominantly an agriculture oriented economy, the State depends on road transport for the movement of agricultural produce and other raw and finished material. The

length of roads maintained by the Public Works Department was 17086 Kms.in 1956-57 rose to 187076 Kms. in 2004-05. The number of motor vehicles has been growing in phenomenal growth rates. The total motor vehicles in the State was increased from 26559 in 1956-57 to 57.97 lakhs in 2004-05. Railways provide the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers. The South Central Railway was formed in 1966 with its Headquarters at Secunderabad and has just completed its forty years of existence. The Railways has been a great integrating force and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture. There were 631 Railway Stations in the State spread over a route length of 4974 Kms. Telecommunication is an essential part of infrastructure and one i.e., increasingly important, given the trend of globalisation. During half a century of Andhra Pradesh, there was enormous increase in telephone connections. One of the objectives of the Five Year Plans is to eradicate poverty. The percentage of people living below poverty line in the state which was 48.86 in 1973-74 improved to 15.77 in 1999-2000. As per the Tenth Five Year Plan of Government of India, the percentage of people below poverty line in the terminal year 2006-07 is projected to be 8.49 in Andhra Pradesh as against 19.34 at the national level. The economic profile of the State can be divided into three broad sectors viz., agriculture and allied services, industrial and services sectors. The data on Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at constant (1993-94) prices are available from 1960-61 onwards. The GSDP of the State at constant prices rose from Rs.14984 crore in 1960-61 to Rs.118306 crores in 2005-06 (UA). Sector wise the share of agriculture sector in the total GSDP which was 62.4 per cent in 1960-61 dwindled to 23.60 per cent in 2005-06. The share of industrial sector rose from 12.6 per cent to 25.98 per cent while the share of services sector rose from 25 per cent to 50.42 per cent in 2005-06 (UA). It was clearly evident that there was a shift from agriculture to non agricultural sector in the economy of the State. The standard of living of the people can be gauged by the increase in per capita income. The per capita income of Andhra Pradesh at current prices increased from Rs.332 in 1960-61 to Rs.25695 in 2005-06. The public debt of Andhra Pradesh is alarming. The public debt outstanding in the State which was Rs.118 crores in 1956-57 increased to Rs.74533 crores in 2005-06 as per revised estimates. Out of the total revenue receipts, expenditure on salaries and pensions accounted for 42.1 per cent and interest payments accounted for 24.7 per cent. Therefore, steps have to be taken to combat the unproductive expenditure in the State for the well being of the people. It is clearly evident from the above analysis that though the State had achieved tremendous progress in the last fifty years of its existence in various sectors of the economy, there is every need to curtail unproductive expenditure for the betterment of the living standards of the people. The novel programmes, such as, Pragathipatham, Rajiv Pallebaata, Nagarabaata, Indiramma Pathakam, Indira Prabha initiated by the

Government are expected to yield fruitful results in order to attain the goal of “SUBIKSHA ANDHRA PRADESH”.

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