How rich are the people of Ayodhya?Image Credit source: gemini
As soon as the festival of Diwali approaches, the first name that comes to mind is Ayodhya. The roots of this great festival of lights are linked to this city of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram. In Tretayuga, when Lord Rama returned with mother Sita and brother Lakshman after completing 14 years of exile and conquering Lanka, the people of Ayodhya welcomed him grandly by lighting ghee lamps.
The same tradition is alive today in the form of Deepotsav and we Indians celebrate it as the festival of Diwali. On this auspicious occasion, we all talk a lot about the grandeur and divinity of Ram's city, but often forget to talk about the people of Ayodhya who cherish this heritage.
Today, when the spiritual glory of Ayodhya is being discussed all over the world, and a new stream of development is flowing after the construction of the grand temple, then it becomes important to know how economically prosperous are the common people living in this 'city of Ram', i.e. the people of Ayodhya? How much money comes into their pocket annually? Let us know what is the per capita income of the people of Ayodhya.
To understand the economic condition of Ayodhya, we have to look at the government data. Some time ago, data of all the districts of the state was obtained from the Economics and Statistics Department of Uttar Pradesh. These figures shared by the department are provisional data for 2023-24, according to these figures, if we talk about two years ago from today i.e. financial year 2023, then the per capita income of Ayodhya district was recorded at Rs 89,629 (at current price).
This figure of per capita income is calculated by dividing the total income of the district by its total population. In a way, it is a mirror of the economic health of the district, which tells how much income is coming to an average person. However, it's important to remember that this is an average; The actual income of many people may be more or less than this. Let us tell you that Ayodhya was earlier known as Faizabad, and in 2018 its name was changed to Ayodhya district.
In terms of per capita income, Ayodhya district ranks 28th in the entire state. That means it is neither at the top nor at the bottom. It is included among those districts of the state which occupy a middle position economically.
But when it is compared with the top districts of the state, the difference appears huge. The richest district in terms of per capita income in Uttar Pradesh is Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida). The per capita income of Noida is Rs 10,17,758. This figure is almost 11 times more than that of Ayodhya.
However, the main reason for this high income of Noida is the huge industrial units present there, offices of multinational companies, IT sector and a strong organized service sector. Whereas the economy of Ayodhya has traditionally been more dependent on agriculture and small businesses.
Apart from per capita income, the overall economic strength of the district is measured by its gross domestic product (GDP). If we look at the figures for the financial year 2021-22, the District Domestic Product (District GDP) of Ayodhya was Rs 11,081.24 crore. This figure was about 0.94 percent of the total Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Uttar Pradesh at that time.
However, these figures are from the period when the current pace of development in Ayodhya had not gained full momentum. Over the years, especially after the construction of Ram temple, there has been unprecedented development of infrastructure in Ayodhya. International airport, world class railway station and better road connectivity… all this has established Ayodhya as a global spiritual tourism hub.
The District Domestic Product (GDP) for the financial year 2024-2025 for Ayodhya is not available yet, but according to experts, it may see an increase of 25%-30%. Whereas the estimated GSDP for 2023-24 was ₹25.63 lakh crore.
