Saturday 22 October 2011

HDI in India rose 21 pc, Kerala tops, Uttarakhand neighbor HP at 3


Written by Anil Singh
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The Human Development Index (HDI) in India, rose by 21 per cent, says India Human Development Report- 2011, prepared by Institute of Applied Manpower Research.

The report was released yesterday by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, along with the Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.

The report places Kerala on top of the index for achieving highest literacy rate, quality health services and consumption expenditure of people. Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa came at second, third and fourth positions respectively.

On the bottom of the HDI List, giving the country ample reasons to worry about were the sates of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Assam. All these states continue to lag behind in HDI and remain below the national average of 0.467.

The report further said that, as of now, 66 out of every hundred households in the country reside in pucca (cemented) houses and 75 out of every hundred families have access to electricity for domestic use.

Hailing the growth made by the country in the area of HDI, the report said that India has registered impressive gains in the last decade as the index increased by 21 per cent to 0.467 in 2007-08, from 0.387 in 1999-2000.

Throwing some light on the darker side, the report cautioned the policy makers that health, nutrition and sanitation still remain key challenges for India.

Although, the report doesn’t raise alarm bells for Uttarakhand, as the hill state finds itself somewhere in the middle of the List ( as happens with the state in such lists); seeing the neighboring Himachal Pradesh in the top three performers, shows where the state of Uttarakhand is lagging even after a decade of its creation. The performance of Himachal Pradesh in Human Development Indices is simply the outcome of its policies, over the years, aimed at protecting the interests of its people. To cut the long explanation short, these policies always tried to stop one thing – the migration of people. Be it barring HP domiciles to sell their small land holdings to outsiders, to implementing tourism and horticulture model which suited smallest of farmer/land-holder/entrepreneur, the state always aspired to adapt itself to the limited resources of its people and the state itself.

Hope Uttarakhand takes lessons from Himachal Pradesh, fast.
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