The resources of Rajasthan
Rajasthan has always been an agricultural region. Agriculture supports almost two-thirds of the population and accounts for 30% of the state's GDP. Cereals, oilseeds, pulses and cotton are among the favored crops. Crop yields are highly dependent on the summer monsoon, which lasts from June to September, and production can vary considerably from one year to the next. For example, with 458 mm of rainfall recorded in 2021, cotton production is up 100% on the previous year. Industry accounts for 25% of Rajasthan's economy. It is essentially based on the exploitation of mineral resources. The largest state in India, Rajasthan is also the best endowed with natural resources. 82 types of mineral have been identified and 57 are being mined. Lead, zinc and selenite come exclusively from the region. Rajasthan is also one of the country's largest producers of silver, calcite and gypsum. 20% of India's crude oil comes from a deposit in the Thar Desert, near Barmer. Aware of the need to diversify energy sources, the local government has invested heavily in wind power in recent years. It has set up public-private partnerships to develop a huge wind farm around Jaisalmer, making it the second largest wind farm in the country. Cement works and clay and ochre extraction also play an important role in Rajasthan's industry. Textiles and handicrafts spearhead the country's exports. The industrial sector is mainly driven by small family-run structures and a few large state-owned companies.
The services sector accounts for 45% of Rajasthan's GDP. It is supported by a dense banking and financial sector, from the largest national banks to micro-credit organizations dedicated to rural development projects. But in Rajasthan, the service sector is mainly driven by tourism. The local government is particularly interested in this buoyant sector in terms of employment.
The place of tourism
For a long time, tourism in India was reserved for a closed circle of British elites and Indian high society. It was not until the 1960s that the country truly opened up to the world, driven by the Orientalist and hippy movements. In the 1980s, a turning point came with the establishment of public-private partnerships to diversify the offer. States organized themselves by creating regional tourist offices. Rajasthan joined the movement, developing a dense hotel offer and reinforcing its transport network. The maharajas, who had lost their privileges at the dawn of the 70s, transformed their palaces and fortresses into hotel residences. They granted land for the construction of roads and railroad lines. Tourism has become essential to Rajasthan's economy, making it an engine of growth. The state is the fifth most visited in India by foreign tourists, and welcomed 1,600,000 visitors in 2019. French tourists are among the largest contingent of tourists to Rajasthan, with 200,000 annual visitors. Tourism in Rajasthan accounts for almost 15% of the state's economic balance. The local government is multiplying partnerships and initiatives to offer new activities such as cruises on the Chambal River, buggy rides in the Thar Desert or the illumination of historic monuments in towns. The State is also implementing very concrete action plans to develop ecotourism and agrotourism, so that neglected regions can benefit from the windfall. Tourism is seen as a considerable asset for improving connectivity between towns, maintaining cultural heritage and keeping traditions alive. It is also an economic resource that enables citizens to benefit directly from modernization. One study has shown that a rupee spent by a tourist changes hands an average of 13 times, and that each hotel room generates an average of 3 direct and 8 indirect jobs. While foreign tourism is particularly important for earning foreign currency, Rajasthan also runs massive campaigns to attract domestic tourists. More than 52 million Indians visited Rajasthan in 2019.
Current issues
Many of the socio-economic issues facing Rajasthan are the same as those facing India, starting with the over-indebtedness of farmers. Low incomes, uncertain harvests, difficulty in obtaining loans and high interest rates are all factors weighing on the sector. In Rajasthan, 70% of the population depends on farming, but only 20% of the cultivated area is irrigated. Access to water in this semi-desert region is a major challenge, all the more so as climate change is having an impact on monsoons, which are becoming less abundant or, on the contrary, devastating. Under these conditions, better groundwater management and irrigation programs are essential. The Rajasthan government is investing hundreds of millions of rupees in micro-irrigation and rainwater harvesting projects, to limit dependence on the monsoon. The arduous working conditions have an impact on the literacy rate of the inhabitants. Often living in isolated villages, far from schools, children have difficulty gaining access to education. Even when they do have access, some parents prefer to send them out to herd cattle or fetch water from wells, as all hands are needed to support the family. As a result, Rajasthan has one of the worst literacy rates in the country, with only 66% of people able to read and write by 2021. The lack of education reduces these children's chances of one day entering a profession that will improve their family's living conditions.
After years of exponential growth, the number of foreign visitor arrivals has stagnated since 2007. Rajasthan has responded by turning to domestic tourism. The number of Indian visitors has increased 4-fold in just 10 years, to around 50 million annually. This strategy helped limit the devastating effects of Covid, when India closed its doors to foreign visitors for almost 2 years. Since the 2000s, India and Rajasthan have jointly invested heavily in the construction of new highways, airports and air links, bringing in more and more tourists and keeping visitor numbers high. The opening of Jaisalmer military airport to domestic flights in 2017 is a striking example. Nowadays, it is sometimes difficult to find a room in the citadel, rates are skyrocketing and the streets are taken over by tourists.
Bureaucratic inefficiency and endemic corruption are a serious brake on Rajasthan's economic development. The BJP's resounding results in 2014 showed that Indians were looking for a real change in governance. Narendra Modi had punctuated his first campaign with numerous anti-corruption slogans. Once in office, his most striking action was the sudden withdrawal of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The idea was to combat the underground economy and fraud by replacing these bills with new denominations. From one day to the next, many Indians found themselves with a mattress of savings that was impossible to sell. In reality, this operation did a great deal of damage to the economy, which was still relatively unstructured. On the other hand, the Modi government has refrained from taking action against bad administrative practices (absenteeism, variable working hours, demotivation, cronyism, kickbacks, etc.). It is stepping up the pressure on religious minorities. At the same time, it is profoundly transforming the face of India with a number of major public works projects, such as the opening of new airports, the construction of numerous freeways and the development of a high-speed rail line.
Hygiene is also a major concern, which can only improve the country's image, over and above the direct effects on the health of Indians. Modi has launched a major cleanliness campaign, "Swachh Bharat", which is renewed every year. Large posters are put up all over the country, urging Indians to clean up beyond their doorsteps and not to litter. While the campaign seems to be having some effect on attitudes, it is not accompanied by a comprehensive waste management program. Collection, recycling, treatment and storage require major investments that have yet to be made. As a result, many Indians burn their garbage in front of their homes or in their backyards, adding to the ambient pollution. Operation Clean India is accompanied by an ambitious program to build public toilets. In 2014, only 23% of the population living in rural areas had access to sanitary facilities. People used to defecate in fields or by rivers, in the open air, facilitating the transmission of disease and soiling water and soil. In 2019, the Indian government loudly announced that the country was rid of the problem of open defecation. But a study conducted by Unicef in 2021 has tempered this enthusiasm somewhat. It seems that 15% of the population still relieves themselves in the open air. While 110 million toilets have been built in five years, leaving only 0.8% of the rural population without access to a toilet, no campaign to change practices has been carried out among the population.
