In Numbers: How Madhya Pradesh Under Shivraj Singh Chouhan Discarded The ‘Bimaru’ Tag 

From being a 'Bimaru' State under erstwhile Congress dispensation to ranking as the 8th largest State in India in terms of GSDP, under a BJP led government, with an estimated GDP of Rs 8.26 lakh crore in 2018-19 after clocking a GDP of Rs 7.07 lakh crore at current prices in 2017-18, Madhya Pradesh is a story of good politics embracing good economics.

The per capita income in the State has increased to Rs 79,907 in 2017-18 from Rs 73,268 in 2016-17, showing an increase of 9.06 per cent. The graph below further vindicates the commendable growth trajectory under the current Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Source : Economic survey of Madhya Pradesh 2017-18

Nothing demonstrates the resounding success story of MP better than the fact that young start-ups have mushroomed since 2014 after the launch of Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojana (MYSY) that provides loans and an enabling business climate to budding entrepreneurs without any collateral.

A majority of 600+ startups in Madhya Pradesh have emerged in the last few years.

Top startups in Madhya Pradesh are Wittyfeed (internet media company), Bag2Bag (online hotels), RackBank (datacenter), MaalGaadi (intra-city transportation), My Sanika (cancer care society), Oye24 (online food delivery), TukTuk (autorickshaw) and many others.

Right from fresh veggies, laundry services, utility services, ready-to-eat meals to city transportation, e-commerce and organic farming, these startups have brought everything to people's doorsteps.

While the start-up boom under the astute leadership of CM Chouhan is commendable, the agriculture-dominated State is also the proud recipient of the “Krishi Karman Award” for five consecutive years from 2011-12 to  2016, witnessing average annual agricultural growth of 18 per cent in the last 5 years. The agrarian economy in the State accounts for 34 per cent of the GSDP and provides livelihood to 62 per cent of the state's working-age population.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's another flagship scheme, Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana, launched in 2017 for eight crops (oilseeds and pulses) before being extended to 13 Kharif crops in 2018, has worked wonders for the farmers.

Under the scheme, the government pays the difference to farmers whenever market prices of the agricultural produce fall below the announced Minimum support price (MSP). This way, the government is able to overcomes the limitations of government procurement processes and protects large number of farmers from distress sale.

Unlike Punjab, Madhya Pradesh decentralised its procurement process, choosing to do procurement through co-operative societies via the e-Uparjan instead of arhatiyas, thereby cutting through swathes of red tape and corruption. The higher procurement is further aided by the increase in productivity due to farm mechanisation and easy availability of farm credit.

Earlier, the State government also gave a bonus of Rs 100/quintal on the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for wheat, over and above the centre’s MSP, between 2007-08 and 2012-13 and Rs 150/quintal in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Diversification from cereals and pulses towards high value crops and livestock is yet another achievement of the state. In five years (2012 -17), MP’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) in animal husbandry has multiplied four times, from Rs 8,976 crore to Rs 33,751 crore . The GSDP in fisheries has increased threefold in the same time period, from Rs 650 crore to Rs 1,805 crore.

Apart from this, milk production recorded an increase from 6.4 million tonnes in 2006-07 to 10.8 million tonnes in 2014-15 and vegetable production from 3.6 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 14.2 million tonnes in 2013-14, taking the state from thirteenth to fourth largest producer of vegetables in the country.

A good government policy with respect to farmers' remunerations is matched by infrastructural development. Rapid strides have been made in irrigation, whereby gross irrigated area more than doubled from a measly 4.3 million hectares in 2000-01 to an impressive 10.3 million hectares in 2014-15.

In 2000-01, the irrigation ratio in MP was 24 per cent, rising dramatically to 41.2 per cent by 2013-14 and by 2014-15, the irrigation ratio in MP reached a solid 42.8 per cent.

The MP government under current CM Chouhan managed to establish an impressive network of irrigation infrastructure comprising dug wells, tube wells, tanks/ponds and government canals, through a combination of public investment and incentivising private sector investment.

Sagar, the 16th largest district in Madhya Pradesh is a testimony to how agriculture has married technology to improve lives of common people in the State, thanks to good governance.

The Chouhan-led BJP government ensured 24 hour power supply in the state, out of which eight hours were exclusively for agricultural purposes. This was besides aggressively implementing the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana and providing separate rural feeders for agriculture. Over 43,517 villages have been provided with a separate feeder of 11 KW line comprising 71,688 Km.

Road density in MP too  increased from 526.8 per thousand sq km in 2000-01 to around 742.3 per thousand sq km in 2012-13. The surfaced roads as a percentage of total roads have increased from 49 per cent to 68 per cent during this period, enabling farmers to access larger markets at lower risk. The Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana that was started in 2013 to build 19,386 km of roads is a case study in successful implementation of infrastructure projects under the strong BJP leadership in the State.

More importantly, the Krishak Udyami Loan Yojana launched last year for the sons and daughters of the State's farmers has found scores of takers among educated rural youth who can now avail of loans between Rs 10 lakh-2 crore via 1,000 processing centres coupled with a grant of as much as 40 per cent, if the loan amount is Rs 25 lakh or more.

The fact that the welfare of the girl child has always been at the forefront of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's development mantra is vindicated by the Laxmi Ladli Yojana launched in 2007.

Under the scheme, the government purchases National Savings Certificate of Rs 6,000 each year for a total of five years and these are renewed from time to time. At the time of girl's admission in the sixth standard, Rs 2,000 and on admission in the ninth standard Rs 4,000 is paid to the girl. When she gets admitted in the 11th standard, she would receive Rs 7,500. During her higher secondary education, she would get Rs 200 every month. On completion of 21 years she would receive the remaining amount, which would be more than Rs 1 lakh.

Equally, the Mukhyamantri Mazdoor Suraksha Yojana is doing more than its fair share in helping newly married couples, widows and divorcees.

Besides agriculture, the number of MSME units  in the State have been steadily increasing since 2012-13. From 19,894 registered Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in 2012-13, the number rose to 87,071 in the 2016-17, providing employment to over 36 lakh people.

Gwalior, the chemicals, textiles and manufacturing hub which enjoys a  strategic position as being a main junction on New Delhi-Chennai railroad, is surrounded by three Industrial areas - Sitholi, Banmore and Malanpur, off NH3, NH75 and NH92. The automobile, retail and real estate hub is, of course, the city of Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh which is home to the famous Pithampur SEZ and the Sanwer industrial belt.

Worldpay, Impetus, IBM India and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) are software companies that are adding to Indore's rise as a software hub. Apart from the campus by TCS in 2011, the development centre being set up by Infosys and production units of pharma companies like Cipla, Ipca, Lupin, Glenmark and Unichem in Pithampur have made Indore a booming industrial zone.

The same goes for Ratlam, a city that is home to many agro-based and chemical factories namely JVL, Hightech, Shaba Chemicals, Bordiya Chemicals, Sujjan Chemicals and more.

Dewas,the Soyabean belt of Madhya Pradesh, apart from being the source-region for the world famous "Mojri" footwear and Rewa, the mining belt with rich deposits of sandstone, limestone and calcite, showcases the rich industrial diversity of Madhya Pradesh in every sense of the word.

No discussion on industrialisation in MP is complete without mentioning Jabalpur, which is not only an important wheat, rice, sorghum, millets, cotton, oilseeds, pulses and sugarcane growing district but also home to Grey Iron Foundry and Gun Carriage Factory besides hosting industrial units in sectors as diverse as furniture making, saw milling, glassware, steel structures, wood cutting, tobacco, cement, and of course, vending for Coca Cola and Parle.

While Bhopal had been scarred by the gas tragedy in December 1984 and an incompetent and insensitive Congress dispensation allowing ex CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, to flee India with no punishment or accountability whatsoever for that horrific crime, the city today is a thriving software and IT hub, besides evolving as a famous tourist destination due to attractions like the Sanchi Stupa, barely 46 km away from Bhopal.

A lesser known fact is that Madhya Pradesh attracted 15.05 crore tourists in 2017 including 3.63 lakh foreigners after seeing an equally solid tourist footfall of 7.5 crore people in 2016. Be it the annual Gwalior trade fair or cities like Ujjain, one of the 16 "Mahajanapadas" and capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, or the Khajuraho temples in Chhatarpur that have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Madhya Pradesh combines old world charm with progressive modernity, best showcased by Indore which has been ranked as India's cleanest city in the Swachh Suvrakshan survey in 2017 among 434 cities and yet again in 2018 out of more than four thousand cities and towns.

If there is indeed a test for how political will can transform a sick economic structure into an economically vibrant and healthy State, Madhya Pradesh, in the last 15 years of BJP rule, would qualify with flying colours.