By per capita income, nonetheless, not all of them rank among the richest states in India. A Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) study lists these as India’s five richest states.
In 1991, the five major southern states (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu) had lower per capita incomes than the national average. However, these five states have expanded enormously after the historic liberalization.
The per capita income shown here should be read as a percentage of the national average. 100% would mean twice that of the national average. The five large southern states together accounted for approximately 30% of India’s GDP in the financial year ending March 2024. Interestingly, Telangana is the youngest state in India, split out of Andhra Pradesh on June 2, 2014.
Maharashtra remains the highest contributor but it’s relative share in India’s GDP has declined in the last decade. The state, which is home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, accounted for over 15% of India’s GDP about a decade and half earlier. Now, it’s 13.3%.
However, the state doesn’t rank in the top five in terms of per capita income. The per capita income has grown to 150.7% of the national average at the end of March 2024, compared to 133.7% sixty three years ago.
Uttar Pradesh’s contribution to India’s GDP is down to 9.5%, from 14% in 1960-61. Bihar makes for 4.3%, despite being the third most populous state in the country, after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, according to the 2011 census.
Punjab benefitted immensely from the Green Revolution in the 1960s. The per capita income in the state went 119.6% over the national average to 169% by 1971.
However, the gains from the focus on agriculture flattened out by 1991. Still, the per capita is still 106%, more than twice that of the national average. Haryana has seen an impressive rise in per capita income to 176.8%, bulk of the rise started at the turn of the century.
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