The state has reasons to rejoice. The financial downturn has not battered Bihar’s economic development.

The growth of gross state domestic product (GSDP) during financial year 2011-12 is estimated to be 16.71 per cent as compared to 13.67 per cent in the 2010-11 fiscal.

Vijoy Prakash, the principal secretary of the department of planning and development, said: “The growth rate of 16.71 per cent in GSDP during 2011-12 fiscal has been registered because of growth in various sectors like agriculture and animal husbandry, which have registered a growth of 17.61 per cent.”

Apart from these two, other sectors, which have contributed to the GSDP growth, includes construction reflecting a growth of 23.6 per cent. Banking and insurance sectors, too, have contributed a lot in the growth of GSDP. In 2011-12 fiscal, these industries grew at 35.89 per cent. Prakash said agriculture and its allied sectors saw considerable growth. The sector consists of animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries. He added that the growth of agriculture is owing to record production of major crops. In the financial year 2011-12, there was a record production of paddy at 83.05 lakh metric tonnes, wheat at 60.02 lakh metric tonnes and maize at 21.11 lakh metric tonnes.

While releasing the data of sector-wise growth, the principal secretary said various segments had registered a steady growth. He added that the industry sector registered a growth of 18.27 per cent in 2011-12 fiscal against the previous 17 per cent. In the service sector, which includes transport, communication, hotel and restaurants, financial and social sectors, the growth has been pegged at 16.59 per cent as against previous year’s 14.45 per cent.

The department also pegged per capita gross state domestic product for 2011-12 fiscal at Rs 13,971 as compared to the provisional estimate for 2010-11 at Rs 13,388. The growth rate in the per capita GSDP is estimated to be 15.15 per cent during financial year 2011-12 as against the previous year’s estimate of 12.09 per cent.