AHEMADABAD: A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has stated that Gujarat is in the verge of debt. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has dropped sharply. According to the report submitted in the state legislative assembly, Gujarat recorded the lowest GSDP growth in five years in the 2020-21 financial year, during which Covid-19 was first reported in the country.

Lockdowns and other Covid restrictions were imposed in the country during the 2020-21 financial year. From 2016-17 till 2020-21, Gujarat’s GSDP rates grew at a higher rate when compared to the national growth rate.

The GSDP growth rate was 13.43 per cent in 2016-17, 13.87 per cent in 2017-18, 13.08 per cent in 2018-19 and 9.75 per cent in 2019-20. In financial year 20-21, the growth rate was 0.57 percent. The state's population also increased from 6.10 crore in 2011 to 7.03 crore in 2021, recording a growth of 15.25 per cent.

All the 97 Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in Gujarat have created a loss of Rs 30,400 crores, stated the report. GSDP is the measure of the monetary value of all final goods and services produced in a state within a given period of time.