NFHS-5 Report : Existence of two India’s – UPSC GS2

How NFHS-5 Report proves existence of two India’s:
  • In social development:
    • Tamil Nadu has less than a third of the diarrhoea cases when compares to Bihar.
    • Bihar has only two-thirds of Tamil Nadu’s ratio of literate women or doctors per 1,000 population, but a 50% higher ratio of stunted and wasted children.
  • In economy:
    • State’s comprising most of Southern and Western India and states like Haryana have an annual net income per head of about $3,000. Their per capita income is closer to the Philippines.
    • Bihar with barely a third of India’s net income per head might get bracketed with Niger. UP might get clubbed with Niger’s neighbour in the Sahel, Mali.
    • So economically, Africa’s Sahel region and the Philippines co-exist in India.
What are the impacts of these two India?
  • Private investment will go to India that might catch up with the Philippines, not the India that compares with the Sahel.
  • Poorer states’ own tax resources are much lower when compares to the better-off states.
Are these two India’s getting closer?
  • The difference is reducing in many metrices. For example, on metrics like households that have electricity, women with bank accounts and drinking water, the difference is less.

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