Jharkhand: Economy, Mining and Agriculture.

Bird's eye view of the economy of the State:- 

Jharkhand shares its borders with West Bengal in the east, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the west, Bihar in the north and Odisha in the south. In India, Jharkhand is one of the leading state in terms of economic growth. The GSDP growth of the state stood at 10.22 per cent in 2017-18, compared with 6.6 per cent for pan India.

Jharkhand is one of the richest mineral zones in the world and boasts of 40 per cent and 29 per cent of India's mineral and coal reserves respectively. Due to its large mineral reserves, mining and mineral extraction are the major industries in the state. Mineral production during 2016-17 and April-December 2017 stood at US$ 3,185.69 million and US$ 312.87 billion, respectively.

Jharkhand is rich in mineral resources such as coal (27.3 per cent of India’s reserves), Iron ore (26 per cent of India’s reserves), Copper ore (18.5 per cent of India’s reserves), uranium, mica, bauxite, granite, limestone, silver, graphite, magnetite and dolomite.

Jharkhand is the only state in India to produce coking coal, uranium and pyrite. With 25.7 per cent of the total iron ore (hematite) reserves, Jharkhand ranks second among the states.

The state’s industries enjoy a unique location-specific advantage as it is close to the vast market of eastern India. It is closer to the ports of Kolkata, Haldia and Paradip which helps in transportation of minerals.

The state has attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows worth US$ 113 million during the period April 2000 to September 2017, according to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Jharkhand offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives to industries, under the Industrial Policy, 2012. The state also has policies for IT and special economic zones (SEZs) offering sector-specific incentives, as well as the Jharkhand Energy Policy 2012 which aims to supply reliable and quality power in an efficient manner at a reasonable price. Jharkhand stands 7th among Indian states in the Ease of Doing Business Index, as per the report ‘Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms 2016’ by the World Bank and DIPP.

About 80 per cent of the rural population of the state depends on agriculture. Rice is the major food crop of the state, covering 80 per cent of the cropped area.

Recent Developments:- 

• In May 2017, Ramky Infrastructure bagged a US$ 50.12 million highway project in Jharkhand. The project was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and pertains to four-laning of 40.5 km stretch of Barhi-Hazaribag section of NH 33 in the state.
• In May 2017, the state government and Oracle signed a MoU to improve citizen services and to make Jharkhand an attractive destination for start-ups.
• The central government has started work on a multi-modal terminal on the river Ganga at Sahibganj in Jharkhand. This is a part of the 1,390-Km long national waterway-1 being constructed between Varanasi and Haldia. It will have a cargo handling capacity of 2.24 million tonnes per annum.
• Jharkhand Education Project Council, in collaboration with Sampark Foundation, launched Sampark Smart Shala program with an investment worth US$ 5.94 million to reach 26,000 primary schools in the state.
• Under Jharkhand Automobile and Auto-Component Policy 2015, the government plans to create additional employment opportunities for 50,000 personnel in this sector by 2020 and encourage establishment of Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 auto-component manufacturers in the state.
• Energy department of Jharkhand plans set up rooftop solar power plants on 100 government office buildings.
• Jharkhand has received an approval from the central government for US$ 210 million assistance from the World Bank for urban infrastructure projects.
• Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2016 have been drafted in order to foster manufacturing and innovation, create employment opportunities and state-of-the-art infrastructure and enhance inclusivity through various sectors of the state.

By: Shashank Shekhar