Goa's per capita income second highest in the country

PANAJI: Goa''s per capita income at Rs45,105 for the year 2000-01 is stated to be highest in the country next only toChandigarh''s Rs 44,397.
According to Goa Economic Survey 2002-03 presentedto the state Assembly this week, service sector is the main stay of the economyof this tiny coastal state and tourism is the key contributor.
The valueadded from agriculture in Gross State Domestic Product has declined from 16.5%in 1960 to 7.3% in 1999-2000. The waning agricultural activity in the fasturbanised state (over 50% of its population is urbanised today) is also evidentfrom the declining trend in the work participation in this sector. So much sothat the per percentage of workers in this sector has declined from 60% in 1960to 27.5% in 1991 and to 16.6% in 2001 population census. This may be attributedto small land holdings and pressure on land due to heavy urbanisation leading toless economic viability in relative terms, argues the survey.
Among all thestates and union territories, Goa is at fourth place in
literacy next toKerala, Mizoram and Lakshadweep. It is 82.32 per cent overall as per 2002 censuswith 88.88 per cent among males and 75.51 per cent among females.
As perthe Planning Commission estimates for the year 1999-2000, as against thenational poverty average of 26.10 per cent, poverty of 4.4 per cent in Goa isthe second lowest in the country next to J&K. Poverty in rural areas is 1.35per cent and that in urban areas is 7.52 per cent.
The state gives ingeneral a very high level of educated unemployment
mainly underunder-employed category.
The Survey discloses that the state has anexcellent network of banks with 446 banking offices for a population of around13 lakh giving an average coverage per branch at 3013 people.
Goa has avery high rate of savings with per capita bank deposit being as high as Rs70915. The non-resident emigrants particularly working in Gulf account foraround 30 per cent of Goa''s Rs 9530 crore bank deposits.
However, state''sCredit: Deposit ratio is languishing at around 33 per cent for last over sevenyears. The per capita credit during 2001-02 is put at Rs23451.