Delhi’s economic survey was released a day before Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also handles the finance portfolio, unveiled a Rs 69,000-crore Budget for the national capital for 2021-22.
File image of an empty street in Delhi during the nationwide lockdown implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 in India.
The shrinking of Delhi’s economy by 5.6 percent 2020-21, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and its financial impact, lead to a fall in per capita earnings of around Rs 20,000 a year, according to the National Capital Territory’s economic survey released on March 8.
The survey was released a day before Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also handles the finance portfolio, unveiled a Rs 69,000-crore Budget for the national capital for 2021-22.
“The year 2020 witnessed unrivaled turmoil with the novel COVID-19 virus (sic) and the resultant pandemic emerging as the biggest threat to economic growth in a century. The pandemic has been unique in its wide-ranging effects on almost every section of the economy and society. The pandemic impacts both supply and demand in the economy,” the survey document stated.
On average, a Delhiite earned Rs 2.74 lakh annually (constant prices) in 2019-20. However, this figure became Rs 2.54 lakh in 2020-21 (advance estimate), registering a dip of 7.53 percent, according to the survey.
At current prices, the per capita income was pegged at Rs 3.54 lakh in 2020-21 as against Rs 3.76 lakh in 2019-20.
Yet, Delhi’s per capita income remains nearly three times the national average.
The survey noted that the coronavirus pandemic has been a “unique economic shock” that has triggered supply and demand-side shocks simultaneously around the world. “Increased uncertainty, lower confidence, loss of incomes, weaker growth prospects, fear of contagion, curtailment of spending options due to closure of all contact-sensitive activities, the triggering of precautionary savings, risk aversion among businesses and resultant fall in consumption and investment – leading to the first order demand shock.”
The survey pegged Delhi’s advance estimate of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) (constant prices) in 2020-21 at Rs 5.78 lakh crore against Rs 6.13 lakh crore in 2019-20 — a contraction of 5.68 percent. It had risen 7.10 percent between 2018-19 and 2019-20.
