Glaring disparities among Telangana districts in per capita income

HYDERABAD: Three districts _ Jagtial, Kamareddy and Warangal Urban _ are sharing a common phenomenon after reorganisation of districts. They rank among the districts with the least per capita income even as the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is growing at a rate of 13.7 per cent. According to the Telangana Statistical Year Book, 2017 prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the state government, the per capita income remains high in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts which stood first among all the 31 districts.

Jagtial, Kamareddy and Warangal Urban districts figure at the bottom of the table. This is the first time that such a data on per capita income and other departments is available with the state government after the reorganisation of districts. The per capita income in Jagtial district is `77,669. It is ` 78,853 in Kamareddy and ` 79,753 in Warangal Urban. Surprisingly, the per capita income was much better in Warangal Rural at `96,076. The average per capita income of the state is `1,40,683 at current prices. But, the low per capita incomes in several districts is attributed to lack of employment opportunities in the traditional agricultural sector or in any other industry.

As there are no big industries in Warangal Urban, its per capita income is less than the per capita income of Warangal Rural which has rich cotton cultivation. Living up to its global image, Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts had the highest per capita income in the state. Hyderabad’s per capita income is ` 2,99,997 and Rangareddy’s is ` 2,88408. They are followed by Sangareddy with `1,69,481 and Medchal-Malkajgiri with `1,62,327.

Among rural districts, Bhadradri- Kothagudem is better placed with `1,23,112 per capita income thanks to the presence of Singareni Collieries Company Limited and temple tourism due to Sita Rama temple in Bhadrachalam. PER CAPITA INCOME: The per capita income is the mean income from all the sources computed for every man, woman and child in a geographic area, usually for a year. It is arrived at by dividing the total income originated in a geographical area by the total population (mid-year) in that area. The per capita income gives a better idea about the level of development in a state, which is a proxy indicator for the standard of living of the people.