Patna,(BiharTimes): Though Bihar’s economy continued to grow at the fastest rate the growth rate of agriculture, which was 19.91 per cent in 2010-11, has plummeted to 4.64 per cent in 2014-15. In fact during 2013-14, agriculture registered a negative growth of more than seven per cent.

According to the Bihar Economy Survey 2015-16 tabled in the state Assembly on Thursday by finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, the state recorded steady growth in the last decade, with its Gross State Domestic Product growing 10.52 per cent annually on current prices between 2004-05 and 2014-15. But with the slowing down of the Indian economy, annual growth in the last three years came down to 9.89 per cent.

Siddiqui later told reporters later that the high growth rate was due to several sectors recording more than 15 per cent growth. For example, manufacturing registered 19.31 per cent growth, construction sector grew at 16.58 per cent annually and banking and insurance sector at 17.7 per cent.

He said Bihar hopes to get the agriculture package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which he announced for the state last year. The finance minister batted for special status category for Bihar.

The Survey said Bihar ranks at the lowest rung of the per capita table. In 2012-13, the per capita income of Bihar was 37 per cent of the all-India average, in 2014-15, it went up to 40.6 per cent.

It further said that Bihar recorded Rs 74,750 crore loans in 2014-15 as compared to Rs 47,285 crore in 2010-11. The total length of National Highways grew from 3,410 km in 2001 to 4,595 km in 2015. The total length of State Highways is 4,253 km.