A renaissance in connectivity

Madhya Pradesh, the heartland of the country, is a state where a broad and gleaming road network has been developed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which has geared up the state's growth in industrial, economic, agriculture, tourism and education sectors among others.

At present, the state has a broad road network of 4,10,000 km, including rural and urban areas whereas it was only 44,000 km in 2001-02. This means that around 900 per cent hike has been witnessed in road development in the state during the last two decades.

Madhya Pradesh has provisioned Rs 56,256 crore for the infrastructure development in its Budget presented for the current financial session.

The paramount development of the road network at pace has not only facilitated passenger services but also boosted transport activities, which has played a key role in growing the state's economy and brought a boom in various sectors such as tourism, industry, agriculture, education, employment etc.

Madhya Pradesh is among the top three Indian states in terms of poverty reduction

1.36 crore people of the state have raised above the poverty line in five years

The Per Capita Income has increased 12-fold during two decades

According to the recent report of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index, released by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog on July 17, about 1.36 crore people have come out from the poverty line. If it is correlated with per capita income (PCI), Madhya Pradesh has touched a 1,40,583 figure in the state's PCI. The data clearly shows the economic progress of the state and the government's efforts towards reducing poverty in the state. The state’s PCI was only Rs 11,718 in 2001-02.

The Budget for infrastructural development has now increased to Rs 56,256 crore; during 2002-03, it was only Rs 3,878 crore.

Under the leadership of PM Modi, so far, MP has been allocated Rs 3,607 crore against the target of Rs 5,211 crore for the financial year 2022-2023 for the development of National Highways in the state. During the financial session 2014-2015, only Rs 235 crore had been sanctioned for the National Highways and the targeted amount was only Rs 326 crore.

The length of the National Highways in Madhya Pradesh is around 14,000 km which was barely 5,186 km in the year 2014.

Six progress ways have also been sanctioned to Madhya Pradesh by the Union Ministry of National Highways and Transport (MoRTH), namely Atal Progress way (length 299 km), Narmada Progress way (length 867 km), Vindhya Progress way (676 km), Malwa Development way (length 450 km), Madhya Development way (746 km) and Bundelkhand Development way (length 330 km).

State highways

State highways measuring 16,510 km have been constructed at a total cost of Rs 32,953 crore from 2004 to 2023. In 2003, there were only 328 km of 2-lane state highways. Today, in 2023, it has increased 10 times to 3,428 km. Earlier, not a single state highway was 4-lane. Today, 376 km of state highways have become 4-lane.

Access to small towns, markets and Mandis has improved with the expansion of the network of state highways. Commercial activities have expanded in small towns, and farmers have direct access to big markets/Mandis.

The formalities for the construction of the Atal Pragati Path are in the advanced stage. As many as Rs 12,227 crore will be spent on this.

There is a provision of Rs 2,388 crore for the construction of 147-km Bari-Budhani-Nasrullaganj-Sandalpur four-lane road in Narmada Pragatipath. At present, the construction of 500 km of the route has been completed and construction of the remaining 223 km is underway.

In Vindhya Expressway, the 676-km long route from Bhopal to Singrauli is upgraded into a 4-lane at the cost of Rs 3,800 crore. A provision of Rs 2,516 crore has been made for the construction of a 190 km 4-lane road from Bhopal to Sagar.

Construction of 450-km Garoth (Mandsaur)-Ujjain-Indore-Burhanpur 4-lane road has started in the Malwa-Nimar development path on which Rs 7,972 crore will be spent. Similarly, Rs 6,160 crore has been sanctioned for a 4-lane of Bhopal to Chhatarpur road in Bundelkhand Vikaspath. The construction of a 190-km road from Sagar to Chhatarpur has started.

Construction of a road from Betul to Morena 4-lane in Madhya Bharat Vikaspath is underway while construction has started from Bhopal to Dinara (near Jhansi), with a cost of Rs 3,400 crore.

Preparations have started for the construction of ring road for Jabalpur, Indore, Gwalior, Sagar and Rewa cities at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, Rs 5,900 crore, Rs 675 crore, Rs 756 crore and Rs 380 crore, respectively. A budget of Rs 4,145 crore has been provided for the construction of a 143 km 4-lane road from Barwani to Deshgaon on which construction work will start soon.

Besides, ring roads have also been constructed in 15 cities of the state including Jabalpur, Indore, Gwalior, Sagar, Rewa and Ujjain. In Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore, Dewas and Satna cities, elevated corridors have been built or are under construction, and a lake corridor is proposed for Bhopal. Two-lane roads are being constructed in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the state.

During the previous two years, 8,000 km of roads have been constructed, upgraded and renewed, and 69 bridges have been built, spending Rs 12,000 crore.

Under the Madhya Pradesh National Highways Project, 35 road projects spanning 1,500 km worth Rs 40,000 crore have been sanctioned, out of which, the construction work of roads worth more than Rs 27,000 crore is under progress.

More than 1 lakh km of roads have been constructed to connect villages of the state with the main roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and CM Road Connectivity Scheme.

India's first aqueduct and the country's broadest 6-lane tunnel, Rewa-Sidhi, has been built in Madhya Pradesh. It is also the longest underpass in the state. MP CM Chouhan and Union Minister for MoRTH Nitin Gadkari dedicated the tunnel to the nation on December 10, last year.

Under the Kayakalp Campaign, a road network has been developed in the ULBs of the state, including the construction and strengthening works of the roads costing Rs 1,750 crore. At the very place, roads are being constructed in the villages to connect fields with the roads under Mukhya Mantri Khet-Sadak Yojana.

Fuelling economic growth

Madhya Pradesh is the second-largest state in the country by area and one of the fastest-growing states with annual GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) growth at 16.43 per cent (current prices).

The economy of Madhya Pradesh is agrarian, with 72.37 per cent population of the state living in the rural areas. Madhya Pradesh has approximately 70 per cent population dependent on agriculture and allied sectors. The economy of Madhya Pradesh is dominated by the primary sector (47 per cent), followed by the tertiary sector (34 per cent) and the manufacturing sector (18 per cent).

Leap towards prosperity

Madhya Pradesh has presented a huge Budget of Rs 3,14,025 crore for the current financial session in the Assembly during the Budget session while it was only Rs 23,161 crore in 2001-02.

The economic growth reached 16.43 per cent in the 2023-24 financial session, and if we go back to 2001-02, it was only 4.43 per cent.

Due to the introduction of successful policies of the Shivraj Singh-led state government, the debt-to-GSDP ratio declined by 27.8 per cent in the current financial session while it was 31.6 per cent during 2001-02.

The GSDP has touched the figure of Rs 13,22,821 crore in the current financial session whereas it was Rs 71,594 in 2001-02.

The capital expenditure in the current financial session has increased to Rs 56,256 crore from Rs 48,880 crore in the previous financial year. Notably, the capital expenditure in the 2001-02 financial year was only Rs 6,832 crore.

The state's contribution to the country's GDP has increased to 4.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent. The GSDP growth has been more than the country's GDP for the last ten years. MP is the first state in the country where the State Statistics Commission has been constituted, and in the e-return filing, the state has been included in the top five states.

Ensuring credit availability

Credit is vital for the economic growth of any state. It serves as a good proxy for understanding the status of the economy of Madhya Pradesh. The total credit expansion is on the rise to boost the economy of the state.

Priority sector lending 15.45 per cent

MSME 30.22 per cent

Agriculture 13.41 per cent

The agriculture sector dominates the credit share in the state. The MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and housing sectors follow it.