It was not just the formal sector that had picked up in Jammu and Kashmir owing to the infrastructure push and rising tourism, analysis shows that informal economy had seen a jump as well in 2023-24.
The union territory figured among the top 10 states/UTs across the country in terms of capital addition by unincorporated sector.
While the net addition to fixed capital was 3.9 percent by informal enterprises in 2023-24, for Jammu and Kashmir the figure was higher at 4.6 percent, according to data from Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises released by ministry of statistics and programme implementation.
The Pahalgam terrorist attack is likely to deal a big blow for the unincorporated sector, especially as tourism, which accounts for 7-8 percent of the states’ economy, takes a dip.
Post-pandemic, the union territory had added 8 percent more informal firms, mostly micro, medium and small enterprises. The region now boasts of over 700,000 firms operating in manufacturing, trade and services sector.
The region’s economy has grown at par with the national average over the last three years. Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, J&K’s GSDP growth averaged 7.8 percent.
On April 22, 26 tourists lost their lives in Pahalgam, in one of the most severe attacks on the valley since 2000.
A significant push in capex had come from other services industries, which includes tourism, as capital addition had averaged 5.6 percent for the region in 2023-24, compared with 4.6 percent for the country.
Manufacturing had also done well rising 3.7 percent in net addition compared with national average of 3.3 percent. And the push had come from both rural and urban areas alike.
J&K witnessed 23.6 million visit the state in 2024 compared with 21.1 million in the previous fiscal.
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