CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION

The Synchronism of moderately developed and economically desolate states and even
regions with in each state is known as regional disparity or unbalance. This could be
earmarked as wide differences in per capita income, literary ratio, availability of
health and education services, infrastructural facilities etc. Various policies have been
floated time and again to reduce these regional disparities. But the ongoing economic
growth had proved to be a huge stumbling block in the reform process. This study
relates to an analysis of the social and economic indicators in the process of inter-
regional disparities in India.

Nature has created difference among people, among regions and among situations.
These differences are known as natural differences and are taken generally as granted.
The conditions of these natural differences are also called as constraints. However,
man has always made efforts to minimize these constraints to advance on the path of
development. On the other hand the differences created by man on account of social,
economic, political, religious and cultural aspects are called not as differences but
inequalities or disparities. These disparities are called respectively as social,
economic, political, religious and cultural disparities (Rajalakshmi, 2013).

Among all, the economic disparities are critical in nature and are the issues of great
concern in the modern world. Economic disparities help other disparities be widened.
Therefore, if economic disparities are mitigated, other disparities are automatically
narrowed. An economic disparity can be defined as a condition in which a person or
persons though legally having equal rights but for economic reasons deprived to some
extent from available opportunities of fulfilling economic, social, political, cultural
and/or religious needs.

The issue of economic disparity in the process of economic growth has bothered
economists for a long time. Since the time of Adam Smith to the debate on
convergence, divergence and globalization, economic inequality has always remained
an integral part of economic discourse. However, recent outburst against inequality in
developed countries, which followed the global financial crisis, has put the economic

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disparity at the forefront of economic debate worldwide.

Development is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Some of its major dimensions

include: the level of economic growth, level of education, level of health services,
degree of modernization, status of women, level of nutrition, quality of housing,
distribution of goods and services and access to communication. In India, the progress
of socio-economic development among major states is not uniform ( Das , 1999).

The states are marked with wide disparity in socio-economic development. The
factors, which are found out to be more important for the overall development
process, relate to basic needs such as education, availability of food, minimum
purchasing power and facilities like safe drinking water, health care infrastructure,
etc., to attain true development. The government has to take necessary action to
improve elementary education, safe drinking water facilities and health care, and to
remove barriers against social minorities, especially women. The role of social
development such as education especially promoting female literacy is prerequisite
for overall development.

Disparities in economic and social development across the regions and inter-regional
disparities among different segments of the society have been the basis of major plans
for adopting planning process in India since Independence. Apart from massive
investments in backward regions, various public policies directed at encouraging
private investments in such regions and have been pursued during the first three
decades of planned development. The efforts taken to reduce regional disparities were
not lacking but the achievements were not often commensurate with these efforts.
Considerable level of regional disparities remained at the end of the seventies. The
accelerated economic growth since the early eighties appeared to have aggravated
regional disparities (Parveen, 2016). The on-going economic reforms since 1991 with
stabilization and deregulation policies as their central pieces seem to have regional
disparities. The seriousness of the emerging acute regional imbalance has not yet
received the public attention it deserves.

Regional disparities in economic development are one of the common features found
in all over the world today. Regional disparity denotes regional imbalances or

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regional dualism or growth differentiation. The coexistence of developed and
economically states are known as a regional imbalance. The development process
nowadays generally concentrate around the few main territories of a nation and others
do not receive the benefits of such development due to factors like market
imperfection, geographical constraints, false government policies, lack of law and
order and other social, political and economic reasons (Parveen, 2016). The
prevalence of regional disparities is a common phenomenon and is present both in
developed and developing countries.

India as a republic is now more than 70 years old and has seen both good times and
periods of turbulence. These years have seen the development of a lively democracy
and society where Indians have achieved excellence in most spheres of life. However,
there are constraints on the growth of the nation, which mean that the Indian economy
is unfulfilled and has yet to realize its true potential. The comparative performance of
individual states has become one of most important areas of research. Given the
regional disparities in India, a study of Indian states is important if the country has to
develop economically in a balanced way.

In many countries, especially the developing ones, the economic disparities have
become widened on account of improper development plans and attained such a high
level that not only the economic growth is being badly hit but social and cultural
fabric also has become under tremendous pressure. In every economy, the people
have become divided into two separate groups – the poor group and the prosperous
group. The poor mass comprises the substantial majority of the world population and
there has become a big gulf between poor and prosperous or rich people regarding
education, health and income. Therefore, at present the economic disparities mean
deprivation a large mass and are taken as great evil and a challenge to the public
welfare through economic development or growth (Rajalakshmi, 2013) .

Researchers have argued that most of developed countries have hit a record inequality
in income and capital. It has been argued that if not corrected, then the percent level
of inequality could reduce the pace and durability of economic growth by
undermining the progress in health and education and thereby increasing political and
social instability (Ostry et al., 2014). India too has witnessed an intense debate on

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disparities during the last few years. Many researchers have argued that different
services led geographically concentrated economic growth in India, during post
reform period, has increased the income inequality between states as well as between
households (Nayar, 2008). At this juncture of high economic growth and rising
economic inequalities, there is no study as such which studied the regional
inequalities within a developed state like India. The India made a tremendous
development in agriculture, manufacturing and service sector in the post green
revolution period. Since, the period of green revolution to the post liberalization era,
some regions of this state developed significantly in terms of education, health and
income. Contrary to this, many regions lagged behind in terms of economic
development. Therefore, in this report an effort has made to capture the economic
inequalities in different regions of India.

Even the richest country of the world- USA has the problem of imbalanced regional
development and many small countries (such as Italy & France) and socialist
countries (such as Russia and China) are also facing this problem. Different regions of
a country grow at very unequal rates, resulting inter-regional and intra-regional
disparities which in turn give socio-economic problems. In India, regional disparities
exist from the British time period. The British rulers as well as industrialists started to
develop only those embarked regions of the country which were potentially suitable
for prosperous manufacturing and trading activities and served their interests. The
British industrialist preferred to concentrate their activities mostly on metropolitan
cities like Calcutta, Bombay, and Chennai etc. as compare to the other cities of the
country. The uneven pattern of investment in industries as well as in economic
overhead like transportation and communication facilities, irrigation and power made
by the British has resulted regional disparities in India.

In India, wide inter-state and intrastate disparities in economic and human

development are posing questions about the authenticity of the growth process.
Economic development and human development are interrelated. In India the results
of economic development are not being passed on to its citizens and consequently
human development is being held back. The illiterate and sick have become socially
excluded and economically disabled, and it is increasingly necessary that the
economic gains from development be passed on to the disadvantaged so that they also

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can benefit from the economic opportunities ( Chotia and Rao, 2015).

The education sector contributes to the economy in a different way. Citizens can only
become competent, both knowledge-wise and skill-wise, through education, and thus
education contributes to the growth of the economy. For this reason it is important to
explore educational disparities across Indian states. We analyze the performance of all
Indian states in health, education and Income.

Therefore, a study analyzing disparities between the states in health, education and
income all are the more important. Each of these sectors is compound and requires the
coordinated efforts of both public and private sectors, given the massive size of
resources required to improve the situation and remove the disparities. The public
sector has the dual responsibility of creating the necessary policy environment, which
must be both effective and efficient, and providing the required resources. Each of
these sectors plays an important role in the development of the states, and ultimately
of the nation. Human capital has been defined as one of the significant factors of
development in the endogenous growth model. Most of the literature on human
capital focuses on the critical dual partnership of education and health. Good quality
education and a sound health system are vital elements in the economic growth of a
nation. Health in the form of life expectancy has been observed in many cross-country
and inter-state analyses to have a considerable positive effect on the rate of economic
development (Bloom and Canning, 2000) showed that good sound health has a
positive, substantial, and significant impact on overall output across the Indian states.

In this study we have compared Indian states in terms of infrastructure, based on the
major sectors of health, education and Income. The economic development of a nation
relies heavily on the accessibility and ease of access to the facilities provided by these
sectors. Health facilities comprise medical care, nutrition, and water supply; education
pertains to quality of educational institutes, literacy rate etc. Health and education are
instrumental in improving human development and accelerating economic
development. Thus the basic human requirements are to live a long and healthy life
due to the health sector, to be well educated by the education sector, and have access
to the resources required for a decent standard of living .The absence of these
facilities results in an alarming trend of socio-economic disparity.

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Level of Education
Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education that a person has
successfully completed. Successful completion of a level of education refers to the
achievement of the learning objectives of that level, typically validated through the
assessment of acquired knowledge, skills and competencies. Educational attainment
refers to the highest grade completed or whether or not the person has obtained a
secondary school (high school) diploma or equivalency certificate. At the post
secondary level, it refers to post secondary certificates, diplomas or degrees awarded
by accredited educational institutions. It also includes educational certificates or
diplomas awarded to the person by provincial/territorial or federal authorities.
Educational attainment also includes the partial completion of a post secondary
qualification.

Education is a light for life especially for poor. Education improves knowledge and
skill and helps poor people to pull them out of poverty. For poor, education is the very
much needed asset than other asset. Educational attainment is an important indicator
to monitor the development of a nation. Improving education, literacy, and
knowledge not only improves well-being but it also leads to better health
outcomes and to higher income. Inadequate education is one of the most powerful
determinants of poverty, and unequal access to education opportunity is a
strong correlate of income inequality. Basic education or literacy training, of adequate
equality is crucial to equipping disadvantaged individuals with the means to
contribute and to benefit from economic growth. Education is one of the most
powerful instruments societies have for reducing deprivation and vulnerability. It
helps to lift earning potential, expands labor mobility, promotes the health of parents
and children, reduces fertility and child mortality because a voice of society and the
political system.

In remote rural areas there is widespread poverty and approximately 80% of the
families are living in acute deprived condition. In the upper strata of these families
family income is too low to pay either for education in the low standard rural
institutes or for good quality education in the well-equipped urban institutes.
Moreover, in the lower strata of these families a child becomes earning hand by
working as child labor at the age of seven or eight years. The sentiments and feelings

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about education or future welfare of the child droop before the agony of unsatisfied
basic needs due to privation. Therefore, a child in these terribly poor families is
proved an asset rather than liability. Therefore, in widespread remote areas children
either have no access to education or they get substandard education in the
government aided and under-equipped rural institutes affiliated to state level boards or
UN-reputed university. On the other hand, the children of rural and urban prosperous
minority are getting good quality education in well equipped urban institutes being
either university or affiliated to C.B.S.E Or I.C.S.E or some reputed university.

Education, on account of its highly pervasive nature has always remained an area of
importance and concern since time immoral. The reason for this could be its ability to
influence and mold the human capability from very low levels to unprecedented
heights, from being unknown and unproductive class to becoming a highly
competitive unit and from being a raw and uncultivated class to a highly refined value
added finished product. Unfortunately the performance of education in developing
region is far from satisfactory. High drop-out rates, marginalization of socially
disadvantaged group, dilution in the quality of education, lack of supervision and
monetary support are some of the concerned areas that have afflicted the overall
performance of education, all this had held back the development in developing states
while developed state have marched ahead in this adding to the ongoing problem of
regional disparities. Though the government has been concerned about it as
exemplified by the setting up of various commission to look after its working and
suggest appropriate remedial measures, however, it has receives scant attention as far
as the allocation to it is concerned.

In terms of literacy rate, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat (Among
Larger states excluding Union Territories, Hill, North-East states) occupied the first
four places. Kerala (93.91%), Maharashtra (82.91%), Tamil Nadu (80.33%), Gujarat
(79.31%), West Bengal (77.08%), Punjab (76.68%), Haryana (76.64%) and Karnataka
(75.60%) were above the national average rate of 74% in 2011. The other states
namely Orissa (73.45%), Madhya Pradesh (70.63%), Uttar Pradesh (69.7%), Andhra
Pradesh (67.4%), Rajasthan (67.04%) and Bihar (63.82%) were below the state
average level of 74%. It is to be noted that these states were in the same position in
2001. In 1991, 50% of the population had educational attainment and in 2011 nearly

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three-fourths of the population had their educational attainment but still it is to be
noted that 50% of the states had not improved the literacy rate. Southern region stands
top in literacy rate with the average literacy rate of 84.06% in 2011 compared to the
national average literacy rate of 74% and next to Southern region, Western region had
the literacy rate of 82.86% and Northern region at 77.95%.Central (72.76%) and
Eastern region‟s (70.5%) literacy rate was less than the national average level.

This analysis reveals that there are disparities in poverty reduction and education
development in India. BIMARU States are lagging in these aspects and also having
very rich natural resources. To attain over all development, India has to all aviate
these disparities and should ensure the inclusive growth. More and better
education improves a poor country‟s economic growth and there by generates
economics opportunities and incomes. Education brings social benefits that improve
the situation of the poor, such as lower fertility, improved health care of children,
and greater participation in the labor market. There is substantial evidence that
education can reduce poverty. This connection between education and poverty work
through three mechanisms firstly, more educated people earn more; secondly, more
education improves economic growth and thereby economic opportunities and
incomes; and thirdly, education brings social benefits that improves economic
development. Poverty reduction and education development are the prerequisite for
inclusive growth which is being emphasized by the Planning Commission.

Health Development
Investment in health is another significant form of investment that is helpful in human
capital formation and also upgrades the level of living. The health of human being is
vital from the point of economic welfare and level of living. The life expectancy at
birth for males and females was 66.4 years and 69.6 years respectively (Overall
67.9years). Kerala recorded the highest life expectancy at birth for both males and
females in rural areas; Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest for males in urban
areas and Jammu and Kashmir for females in urban areas. The lowest life expectancy
at birth was recorded in the State of Madhya Pradesh for rural males and Assam for
rural females. In Urban, the lowest life expectancy at birth was recorded in
Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh for males and females respectively. Infant mortality
rate (IMR) was 77 in 1991. It has come down to 34 in 2016. Uttar Pradesh, Orissa,

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Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam still have IMR more than the national average
.It could be seen that the infant mortality rate was significant and negatively
correlated with life expectancy rate. It shows that with the decline in infant mortality
rate, the life expectancy will increase.

Health evokes different images for different people. One person might think of well
equipped hospitals, beautifully dressed nurses and smiling staff, others might think of
shelter, food, safe drinking water and a secure job that ensures all of above. But it all
depends upon where a person stands in the society. The holistic perspective of health
takes into account not only existing technologies and organization but it also
underlines the importance of social determinants that contribute to people‟s well
being –such as food availability and nutritional status of population, drinking water
supply, education, housing, employment and last but not the least the status of
women. People‟s health can be defined as an outcome of the interplay of
socioeconomic, cultural, political and technological forces. This outcome varies
depending on gender, class stratification and regional factors. Health as conceived by
World Health Organization (WHO) is a “state of physical, mental and social well
being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. According to Amartya Sen,
health contributes to a person's basic capability to function, to choose the life he/ she
has reason to value (Ghosh, 2011).

Health is not just an attribute of individuals; it is also a reflection of the social

environment in which an individual experiences life. How a society values and
understands health will determine in great part how the individuals in society
experience health. Even more, it will determine what society and individuals can do
about health-how health will be measured and how the society‟s medical care services
will be evaluated. Health, in other words, is thought to be influenced by relative
income, suggesting that levels of health can be regarded as a signal of the socio-
economic development within which people live, as well as to how rich or poor the
society is on an average. Inequality can affect health through a variety of social
factors, such as access of life opportunities, levels of social cohesion and psycho-
social explanations, such as hopelessness, lack of control, isolation, and chronic stress
(Subramanian et al., 2003). Poor health, in turn, further contributes to these social
factors, draining social capital and creating conditions where sections of a society

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trapped in a cycle of self-reinforcing social exclusion. On a macro level, health is a
major cornerstone of economic development, while at the micro level, health is
essential to ensure that people can achieve a more „economically productive life‟.
Increasingly, research is showing that a healthy population is an engine for economic
growth. This new thinking supplements and to a certain extent re-aligns, the
traditional justification of spending on health, which is rooted in humanitarian and
equity arguments.

There are significant inter-regional variations in health and education expenditures

across the country, with developed states spending more per capita on these sectors
compared to less developed ones, partly because they have greater resources and
fiscal space to do so. One encouraging sign in recent budgets is that poorer states
seem to be raising their expenditure on health and education at a pace that is equal, or
sometimes greater than their richer counterparts. For instance, education outlay in
states such as Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh saw greater increase in the fiscal year
ending March 2017 than developed states such as Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

Investment in health along with education is an essential input in human resource

development. It has been emphasized by Schultz as being the basis of an individual‟s
economic productivity. Good health provides the capability to work and perform well
in every sphere of economic activity. Health is important, both at the individual level
as well as the economy level. In any scheme of poverty reduction and long-term
development in low income countries, health occupies an important place. Apart from
economic considerations, humanitarian concerns also given merit attention and aim at
achieving the development of health of the global community. World Health
Organization (WHO) commission on Macroeconomics and Health (2000) has
observed that development would not occur automatically without increased
investment in health. The topic of health disparity has attained special significance
recently. The USA has launched the so called, Healthy People 2010, in January 2000
by which the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) committed the
nation to an overreaching goal, to eliminate health disparities.

The health condition of a country depends on the level of nutrition, per head per day
calories intake, vaccination, immunization, educational level, awareness and many

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more factors. Among these, calories intake is singly most important influencing factor
of nutritional level which plays a big role in improving health condition of an
individual and consequently uninterrupted supply of food to poorer section of the
society should be given significance in understanding the health condition of an
economy. Thus, food security is an important gradient of health status of a region. A
health disparity should be viewed as a chain of events signified by a difference in:
1.environment, 2.access to, utilization of, and quality of care, 3. Health status or 4.A
particular health outcome that deserves scrutiny. Such a difference should be
evaluated in terms of both inequality and inequity, since what is unequal is not
necessarily inequitable.

Income
Income structure of an economy is the normal instrument that can cause a change in
inequality either way i.e. an increase or a decrease in inequality. Since the government
functions within the administrative and fiscal constraints, the target group
programmers normally have a marginal impact on income redistribution. Income of
labour enables flow of resources across income classes of people and across the social
and ethnic groups. Flows of income across locations are influenced both by assets
available and modes of creating employment opportunities. However, income
generated by employment of migrant labour, facilitates flow of resources across
regions of a given regional distribution of capital assets. Employment and equity of
income across classes of people and across regions are therefore, closely related to
each other in the long term.

Income inequality among the regions has been rising and the growing between the
richer states and poorer states deserve the immediate attention of policy makers and
public. Rising income inequality matters not only because it raises basic issue of
equity and fairness but it affects our economic and political system in adverse manner.
Moreover, the concept of regional distribution of income is extremely relevant in the
economic development of India too. In this context, it is important to examine
whether regional disparities across states in India have been increasing over the years
( Canaleta et al., 2004).

Inequality is not merely a subject of scholarly interest; rather it is a matter of

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everybody‟s concern. There is ongoing and increasing debate in understanding the
level, causes and development of inequality. A dominant view in post-World War II
development circles was that high inequality facilitated the growth process .Contrary
to it there are reasons to believe that high levels of inequality may adversely impact
future growth and development prospects. Many of the specific mechanisms
highlighted by recent literature either works through “wealth effects” or political
economy arguments. For example, those with little wealth or low incomes find it hard
to invest in wealth or income enhancing activities. A political economy consideration
is that high levels of inequality may lead to pressures to redistribute. Redistribution, in
turn, may lower growth because it is executed through distortionary mechanisms
(Lewis, 1983).

But there are wide disparities in distribution of income in India (2nd most unequal
country in the world).The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 68th round report
for the year 2011-12 noted that there was an increase in inequality in India from 0.297
to 0.307 for the rural sector and from 0.373 to 0.385 for the urban sector, when
compared to the data of 61st round for the year 2004-05. Lorenz ratios at State level
indicates that inequality in rural sector has increased in all States/ Union Territories
except for Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisa, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. During this period, in respect of
the urban sector, inequality increased in Manipur, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Odisa, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Karnataka, Haryana and Kerala. This growing income inequality in India has
negatively impacted poor citizens' access to education and healthcare. People working
in unorganized sectors are the worst sufferers of economic inequality. They are
characterized by low wages; long working hours; lack of basic services such as first
aid, drinking water and sanitation.

The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of a frequency

distribution . The Gini coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, where all values
are the same. A Gini coefficient of 1 (or 100%) expresses maximal inequality among
values. However, a value greater than one may occur if some persons represent
negative contribution to the total For larger groups, values close to or above 1 are
very unlikely in practice. The global income Gini coefficient in 2005 has been

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estimated to be between 0.61 and 0.68 by various sources.

The prevalence of disparities in the living standard across states is the outcome of
income inequality. Inequality can be defined as a deviation from equality where any
individual unit is receiving less than his proportionate share of aggregate income. This
state is referred to as relative deprivation, whereas absolute deprivation is equated
with poverty, where one is not getting sufficient to survive. Inequality is often studied
as part of broader analysis covering poverty and welfare both. Inequality is broader
concept than poverty because the former is defined over the whole distribution and
not only the censored distribution of individuals or households below a certain
poverty line. Moreover income at the top and in the middle of the distribution may be
as important as those at the bottom. On the other hand, inequality is much narrower
concept than welfare. Although both of these capture the whole distribution of a given
indicator, inequality is independent of the mean of the distribution and instead solely
concerned with the dispersion of the distribution.

It is generally agreed that, other things being equal, a considerable reduction in the
inequality of incomes would be desirable. But it is not generally agreed that how this
inequality should be measured. The problem of the measurement of the inequality of
incomes has attracted significant attention in the literature. Inequality is related to
several mathematical concepts including dispersion, skewness and variance. As a
result there are many ways to measure inequality.

According to Atkinson (1983): “An income inequality measure is a condensed

quantitative indication of how and to what extent a certain income distribution differs
from a reference distribution in which differences have been weighted according to
specific normative distribution preference”.

The vast literature on inequalities has produced a substantial number of measures.

Among the most widely accepted are the Gini coefficient, Coefficient of variation,
Quintile Ratio, Inter Quintile Ratio, Relative Mean Deviation, and Variance of
Logarithm, Generalized Entropy indices and Atkinson index. The choice of a single
best measure of income inequality is really a debatable issue because some measure
of inequality are more suited to reflect one aspect, while others measures might be

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needed to highlight a different dimension. It is very hard to suggest a single best
measure of income inequality. However, in determination of the suitability of one or
the other index, some desirable properties of measure of inequality should be taken
into account.

Relevance of the Study

India is fully diversified country with variations based on regional divisions. These
variations can be seen in education, health, income etc. These variations lead to
disparities at different levels and become a good means of promoting inter-regional
cooperation. These disparities are studied at regional level in research but it has its
significance at inter-regional level as well. The present study focused at the extent of
these variations at inter-regional level. It added knowledge in shaping the
development policies of the country. It adds value to the wisdom of planners,
executors and policy makers for further research and shaping policies.

Objectives of Study
The study has the following objectives:
1. To examine the availability of Education facilities and Education attainment in
different regions of India.
2. To examine the Inter-regional comparison of Health facilities and Health
attainment in different zones of India.
3. To study Inter-regional disparities of Income in different zones of India.
4. To draw implications and policy measures to be adopted for different regions.

Hypothesis
 There is no significant relation between education facilities and education
attainment in different regions of India
 There is no significant difference in health facilities and health attainment in
different zones of India.
 There is no significant difference in income in different zones of India.

Research Methodology
The present study was designed to assess the regional disparity with respect to

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important of social and economic indicators of the Indian economy. The study was
based on the secondary data and three most important economic indicators namely
education, health and income are the main concern of the present study.

Regional distribution
Taking into consideration the objectives of the study, all the states and union
territories of India have been divided into five regions according to Administrative
divisions of India as mentioned below:
S. No Region States/UTs
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab,
1 North
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Delhi
2 West Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, D& N Haveli and Daman & Diu
Andhra Pradesh (AP), Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
3 South
Lakshadweep, Telangana and Puducherry
4 East Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal
5 Central Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
6 North-East
Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripua and A&N Islands
Data collection
Data collection required for the present study is very exhaustive exercise. Various
sources have been approached to compile the following specific data:
Sector Attributes
Education State-wise recent data of number of educational institutions,
enrolments, gross enrolment ratio (GER), number of teachers, Pupil-
teacher ratio, facilities etc.
Health CBR, CDR, TFR, IMR, NNMR, ENMR, PNMR
Income GSDP, NSDP,GDP at Factor Cost, GDP at Market Prices, NDP at
Market Prices , NNP at Factor Cost ,Personal Disposable Income,
Gross Domestic Capital Formation , Consumption of Fixed Capital,
Indirect Taxes less Subsidies, Gross Domestic Saving, Net Domestic
Saving, Capital Expenditure, Capital Receipts, Interest Payments,
Nominal GSDP, Outstanding Liabilities, Own Tax Revenues ,Revenue
Expenditure, Revenue Receipts, Per capita income (Rs)

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Chapter Scheme
Chapter-I: Introduction
Chapter-II: Review of Literature
Chapter-III: Research Methodology
Chapter-IV: Educational Disparities in India
Chapter-V: Regional Variations in Health Facilities and Health attainment
Chapter-VI: Inter-regional Income disparities in India
Chapter-VII: Inter-regional disparities in India
Chapter-VIII: Policy Implications

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