West Bengal: A Journey from a developed to BIMARU state
June 8, 2023
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • G20
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • More
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • My States
    • Vocal4Local
    • Business
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • G20
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • More
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • My States
    • Vocal4Local
    • Business
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • G20
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • RSS in News
  • My States
  • Vocal4Local
  • Subscribe
Home Bharat

West Bengal: A Journey from a developed to BIMARU state

WEB DESK by WEB DESK
Aug 14, 2021, 04:44 pm IST
in Bharat
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterTelegramEmail

 

Dr. Ashwani Mahajan 

Some of the most backward states of India (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh) are traditionally called 'Bimaru' states by generally adding the first alphabet of their name. The important thing is that not only the per capita income of these states was low, in terms of indicators of human development also, they were counted among the most backward states.  Time changed, efforts were made for economic development in these states and their growth rate as well as their human development indicators started improving. Despite these efforts, these states are still far behind in comparison to the developed states.

For the last two years 'NITI Aayog' has been publishing the report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for various states and union territories of the country. According to the NITI Aayog’s report 2020-21, on SDGs, Kerala continues to be on the top among states, with 75 points and Bihar is at the bottom with 52 points. Although many states have moved from aspirant (that is, those with less than 50 points) to performer category, yet seven states are still below 60 marks, though, no state is less than 50 points today. That is, all states have reached the category of either performer (with 50 or more, but less than 65 points) or 'front runners' (those with a score greater than 65).

The situation of every state is different, thus we need to analyze the performance of the states individually. However, if the performance of two states Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal is analyzed then very interesting facts emerge. In 2019-20, the per capita income of West Bengal was 115748 annually, whereas the annual per capita income of Uttar Pradesh was only Rs 65,704. If we look at the Sustainable Development Goals data, Uttar Pradesh was only slightly behind West Bengal's 62 with 60 points and it seems that if Uttar Pradesh continues to improve its performance in the same way, it may soon overtake West Bengal.

In 2018, West Bengal was ranked 17th in the country with 56 points in the Sustainable Development Goals, while Uttar Pradesh was at the bottom with 42 points. By 2020, West Bengal rose only 6 points to 62, while Uttar Pradesh jumped 18 points to 22nd. That is, while West Bengal has increased by only 6 points in two years, Uttar Pradesh's jump of 18 points has pushed it ahead of many other states.

Why is West Bengal lagging behind?

The issue here is not just for the last two years. West Bengal has been lagging behind in terms of development in the last almost 20-30 years. If the journey from the 8th to the 11th five-year plan is seen, then it is found that the rate of GDP growth of West Bengal was lower than the national average, except in the 9th five-year plan. The main reason for the low rate of GDP growth of West Bengal is that in the first 12 years of the last two decades, while the rate of industrial growth of the country was very high, the rate of industrial growth in West Bengal remained low or even negative, so much so, that the contribution of industrial sector in the GDP continued to decline. West Bengal, which was an industrialized state, contribution of manufacturing in GDP declined from 11.1 per cent in 2004-05 to 9.21 per cent in 2011-12 as per the Central Statistical Organization's 2004-05 series of estimates. Due to some conceptual changes in the 2011-12 series, this share was reported to be 13.4 per cent in the new series, but that too declined to 10.6 per cent by 2019-20. That is, there has been continuous erosion of the industrial sector, especially manufacturing in West Bengal.

It is well known that more employment opportunities are there in the manufacturing sector, as compared to other sectors, namely agriculture and services. With the decrease in manufacturing, employment opportunities also come down. In order to somehow survive, people engage in petty occupations or become casual workers. Its effect was that whereas 24.1 percent of the workers in the country were in the casual employment, in West Bengal 29.8 percent of the workers were in the casual employment. That is, it can be said that there has been casualisation of labor in West Bengal. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, which was a very backward state in the past, has improved its position and the percentage of casual laborers in work force in 2019-20 was only 19.6 percent, less than the even the national average.

It is generally believed that if there is development in the manufacturing sector, with improvement in employment opportunities, well-being of the people also improves. The economy of West Bengal shows no signs of improvement in the last almost 20 years. This is the reason that while other states have improved significantly on the Sustainable Development Goals, West Bengal's performance has been utterly unsatisfactory. As per the report of NITI Aayog,  West Bengal's performance in poverty alleviation was unfavourable last year, because the workers under MGNREGA got less employment than demanded. From the point of view of the health indicators, though the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age has decreased, maternal mortality at the time of delivery, increased; though the percentage of institutional deliveries increased. There is a slight improvement in the field of education, but there is no significant improvement in the situation in gender equality, rather the difference in wages between women and men widened. There is very little improvement in terms of level of work and economic development. From the point of view of environment, on one hand the use of chemical fertilizers has decreased, the menace of hazardous waste has increased on the other, and on other parameters also, the environment has not improved.

With Uttar Pradesh faring better than West Bengal, it appears that per capita income alone cannot be the only criterion for sustainable development. The Government of West Bengal will have to see that the various parameters of sustainable development are seriously considered. Special efforts will be needed to revive the industrial sector which has been falling behind for the last two decades, by making possible better investment opportunities to make possible better and more employment, with ultimate aim to make lives better.
The author is a Professor at PGDAV College, University of Delhi, 
 

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Previous News

The Culpability of China in Spread of Covid-19 is Beyond Doubt: But What Next?

Next News

Terror module busted in Jammu; 4 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists arrested

Related News

Not Good for India-Canada relations: Jaishankar slams Trudeau Govt for tableau depicting Indira Gandhi’s assassination

Not Good for India-Canada relations: Jaishankar slams Trudeau Govt for tableau depicting Indira Gandhi’s assassination

Maharashtra: Violence in Kolhapur over WhatsApp messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan

Maharashtra: Violence in Kolhapur over WhatsApp messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan

Wrestlers halt protest till June 15 after meeting Anurag Thakur; WFI Elections to be held by June 30

Wrestlers halt protest till June 15 after meeting Anurag Thakur; WFI Elections to be held by June 30

9 Years of Modi Govt: Towards the Goal of Affordable & Accessible Healthcare

9 Years of Modi Govt: Towards the Goal of Affordable & Accessible Healthcare

Auto Draft

Over 100 eminent citizens support inclusion of Savarkar and removal of Iqbal from DU’s political science syllabus

Loka Kerala Sabha: Controversy over CM Vijayan New York event, Oppn claims up to Rs 85 lakh charge to sit close to CM

Loka Kerala Sabha: Controversy over CM Vijayan New York event, Oppn claims up to Rs 85 lakh charge to sit close to CM

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Not Good for India-Canada relations: Jaishankar slams Trudeau Govt for tableau depicting Indira Gandhi’s assassination

Not Good for India-Canada relations: Jaishankar slams Trudeau Govt for tableau depicting Indira Gandhi’s assassination

Maharashtra: Violence in Kolhapur over WhatsApp messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan

Maharashtra: Violence in Kolhapur over WhatsApp messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan

Wrestlers halt protest till June 15 after meeting Anurag Thakur; WFI Elections to be held by June 30

Wrestlers halt protest till June 15 after meeting Anurag Thakur; WFI Elections to be held by June 30

9 Years of Modi Govt: Towards the Goal of Affordable & Accessible Healthcare

9 Years of Modi Govt: Towards the Goal of Affordable & Accessible Healthcare

Auto Draft

Over 100 eminent citizens support inclusion of Savarkar and removal of Iqbal from DU’s political science syllabus

Loka Kerala Sabha: Controversy over CM Vijayan New York event, Oppn claims up to Rs 85 lakh charge to sit close to CM

Loka Kerala Sabha: Controversy over CM Vijayan New York event, Oppn claims up to Rs 85 lakh charge to sit close to CM

Meeting of Opposition leaders to be held in Patna on June 23: JDU president Lalan Singh

Meeting of Opposition leaders to be held in Patna on June 23: JDU president Lalan Singh

“Degree of trust, confidence that India, US have was not present a decade ago: Kurt Campbell

“Degree of trust, confidence that India, US have was not present a decade ago: Kurt Campbell

“Serbia emerged as film destination for Indian filmmakers”: President Droupadi Murmu

“Serbia emerged as film destination for Indian filmmakers”: President Droupadi Murmu

Education: New Horizons for Hindu Studies

Education: New Horizons for Hindu Studies

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • My States
  • Vocal4Local
  • Special Report
  • Sci & Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Obituary
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Refund and Cancellation

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies