Does financial prosperity translate into improved development outcomes? Apply this question in Gujarat’s context, celebrated as one of India’s wealthiest states, and an uncomfortable reality emerges.
Gujarat, as an editorial notes, boasts a per capita income of more than 2.5 times the national average, placing the state on the same pedestal as Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Karnataka. It remains India’s top five GST contributors, with a high labour force participation and low unemployment, adding glitter to the state’s economic landscape.
But while Gujarat’s per capita income is high, its banking and digital infrastructure present an altogether different story. The state has 28-37% fewer bank deposits per capita than Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Only 70% of women have their own bank account, far below the 92% in Tamil Nadu.
Furthermore, despite Gujarat’s remarkable tax revenues and high-net-worth individuals driving the state’s economy, its wealth distribution is highly imbalanced. Rural consumption is at par with Rajasthan and Bihar, and the urban-rural income gap is one of the highest in India.
Ironically, the state, despite its purported prosperity, faces a significant gender paradox. The female birth rate in Gujarat, the editorial points out, is just 95.4 per 100 live births, which indicates that almost five out of every 100 female fetuses are aborted. This figure is worse than the national average.
Gujarat has the third-worst sex ratio at birth in the country, below Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It has lower infant and U-5 mortality rates than Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which is alarming.
Child nutrition in Gujarat is another issue. Approximately 65% of women and 79% of children aged five to twelve suffer from anaemia. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar fare better on this count.
Education outcomes are equally distressing. Less than half of eligible girls’ complete high school in Gujarat. The state’s secondary school dropout rate (17.9%) is higher than that in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Tamil Nadu’s female college enrolment rate is 28.1%, whereas that of Gujarat is only 22.7%.
The disparity between its strong economy and low social metrics calls into question the efficiency of Gujarat’s policies.
The state’s education and healthcare outcomes are certainly not aligned with its wealth, suggesting that its growth has been uneven and unequal. Future assessments should focus on median incomes and combine key health and education metrics to better gauge true development.
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