Northern states that led the nation in Green Revolution but slipped in the aftermath of agriculture growth stagnating at less than 2% are vibrant again. The latest data shows Punjab tops in per capita electricity consumption in the country while the hill state of Himachal not only enjoys the top slot in urban teledensity but is perhaps the only state that has surplus power.
DS Rawat, secretary-general, Assocham, told FE that ?the annual per capita power consumption of Punjab stood at 1,506.3 kWh, Gujarat (1,330.8), Haryana (1,208.2) and Tamil Nadu (1,079.9), which were found to be on the upper side while that of Bihar (91), Assam (175.1) and UP (340.5) were on lower side.? The maximum and minimum ratio in per capita electricity consumption was more than 16 as per the latest available data compiled up to January 2010?.
Rawat further added that per capita consumption of electricity (in kWh) in states like Chhattisgarh (934.8), Himachal Pradesh (872.0), Karnataka (805.5), Andhra Pradesh (802.4), Jammu and Kashmir (758.6), Orissa (664.7), Jharkhand (659.2), Rajasthan (590) and Madhya Pradesh (581.7) has been moderate.
Himachal Pradesh is the only state with peak surplus of 3.6%, whereas peak deficit (in %) in states of Bihar (-33.7), Maharashtra (-24.7), Jammu & Kashmir (-24.6), Punjab (-24.3), Uttarakhand (-21.1), Madhya Pradesh (-14.4), Karnataka (-13.5), Jharkhand (-13.0), Gujarat (-8.6), Andhra Pradesh (-7.7), Haryana (-7.4) is higher unlike in states of Assam (-5.0), Chhattisgarh (-4.1), Tamil Nadu (-4.8), Kerala (-4.5), Orissa (-2.1) and Rajasthan (-1.9) where peak deficit is comparatively less.
The Assocham analysis brings to the fore a depressing fact that no states in the country can boast of surplus power. The power deficit, according to analysts, is more in the states of Jammu & Kashmir (-23.1), Uttarakhand (-21.8), Madhya Pradesh (-18.7), Maharashtra (-18.4), Bihar (-15.5), Punjab (-14), Assam (-8.7), Karnataka (-7.5), Jharkhand (-7.0), UP (-6.2), Andhra Pradesh (-6.1), Tamil Nadu (-5.1) as compared to states like Gujarat (-4.1), Haryana (-3.9), Himachal Pradeh (-3.8), Rajasthan (-2.6), West Bengal (-2.6), Chhattisgarh (-2.5) and Orissa (-0.9).
The teledensity in the urban areas in various states as on January 2010 has Himachal Pradesh (252.6) on top, followed by Kerela (169.9), Karnataka (128), Tamil Nadu (115.1), Orissa (115), Punjab (114.7), Bihar (114.0), Rajasthan (111.3), Jammu & Kashmir (106.4), Maharashtra (101.7), West Bengal (101.1), UP (99.1), Haryana (91.7), Gujarat (88.5), Assam (88) and Madhya Pradesh (84.8.)
Himachal Pradesh also boasts of high rural teledensity, coming in at the second place. sis The extent of teledensity in the rural areas of different states are Kerala (42.1), Himachal Pradesh (41.4), Punjab (39.4), Haryana (36.1), Tamil Nadu (35.1), Gujarat (30.1), Maharashtra (29), Rajasthan (28.7), Jammu & Kashmir (23), Andhra Pradesh (22.3), Karnataka (21.1), West Bengal (21.1), Orissa (17.5), Assam (16.4), UP (14.3), Madhya Pradesh (12.5) and Bihar (12.3), during January ?10.