HYDERABAD: The Economic Survey tabled by the Centre in Parliament on Monday certified the progress of Telangana under the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) regime over the past seven years, giving a big boost to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and puncturing the BJP allegations of misgovernance by the TRS.
Telangana fared better on several counts in the survey. The survey notes that Telangana is one of the six states/UTs and the only bigger state in the country that has achieved the coveted status of 100 per cent households with tap water supply. This proved the success of ‘Mission Bhagiratha’, the brainchild of Chandrashekar Rao.
In SDG (sustainable development goals), Telangana performed better and emerged as a 'frontrunner' state. However, the state lags behind in fertility rate and sex ratio which are lower than the national average. It fares better in households using clean fuel but lags behind in sanitation when compared with national average.
On implementing labour reforms, Telangana is among the 26 states/UTS in notifying the draft rules on the Code on Wages and is among the 22 states/ UTs that notified draft rules on the Code on Industrial Relations. In achieving SDG, the state stands at the sixth place in the country along with Gujarat with a score of 69 out of 100. Out of 15 goals, Telangana remained a 'frontrunner state' in achieving nine goals with a score in the range of 65-99, as a 'performer state' in achieving three other goals with a score of 50-63, and 'aspirant' in two other goals with a score of 41 to 43.
Telangana also fares better in terms of growth in services sector as per GSVA (gross state value added). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions in movement, GSVA in the services sector declined in 2020-21 relative to the pre-pandemic year 2019-20 across the country. This is true for 13 out of 20 states for which data is available. During 2020-21, services GSVA contracted by almost 11 per cent in Rajasthan, and by almost 10 per cent in Jharkhand and Punjab. In Telangana, the decline was lower at just 3.94 per cent.
In terms of infant mortality rate, Telangana fares better over the national average of 35.2 (per 1,000 live births) in 2019-20. It recorded a 26.4 infant mortality rate.
The state also recorded under-5 age group mortality rate of 29.4 against national average of 41.9, neonatal mortality rate of 20.0 against national average of 24.9. Telangana recorded total fertility rate (children per women) of 1.8 against national average of 2 and sex ratio (females per 1,000 males) of 894 during 2019-21 against national average of 929.
Telangana lags behind in population living in households that use improved sanitation facilities at 52.3 per cent against national average of 70.2 per cent, while it fared better in households using clean fuels for cooking at 67.3 per cent against national average of 58.6 per cent during 2019-21.
