NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday said that the states in India's eastern region like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are keeping India backward, especially on social indicators.

Speaking at the first Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Memorial Lecture at Jamia Millia Islamia University, Kant said, "Eastern part of India particularly states like Bihar, UP, Chattisgarh, MP, and Rajasthan are keeping India backward especially on social indicators. While we have improved on ease of doing business, we have remained backward on human development index."Kant further said that India is still 131 out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Reacting to 'Challenges of Transforming India' he said that the part of southern and western India was doing well and growing speedily."And when the country's HDI has to improve and we have to focus on these social indicators. We are working on these things through Aspirational Districts Programme," he added.

Stressing upon the significance of sustainable growth, the NITI Aayog CEO said, "Education and health are vital and in these two areas India is lagging behind. Our learning outcomes are poor - a class 5 student is not able to do class 2 subtractions. Class 5 student is not able to read his mother tongue. Infant mortality rates are very high. Unless we improve on these aspects, it will be difficult to grow in a consistent way."

He also encouraged women to participate in decision-making process. He said, "There must be a conscious effort to frame policies to give women opportunities."

The other states he included in his list were Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday said that the states in India's eastern region like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are keeping India backward, especially on social indicators. Speaking at the first Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Memorial Lecture at Jamia Millia Islamia University, Kant said, "Eastern part of India particularly states like Bihar, UP, Chattisgarh, MP, and Rajasthan are keeping India backward especially on social indicators. While we have improved on ease of doing business, we have remained backward on human development index."Kant further said that India is still 131 out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). Reacting to 'Challenges of Transforming India' he said that the part of southern and western India was doing well and growing speedily."And when the country's HDI has to improve and we have to focus on these social indicators. We are working on these things through Aspirational Districts Programme," he added. Stressing upon the significance of sustainable growth, the NITI Aayog CEO said, "Education and health are vital and in these two areas India is lagging behind. Our learning outcomes are poor - a class 5 student is not able to do class 2 subtractions. Class 5 student is not able to read his mother tongue. Infant mortality rates are very high. Unless we improve on these aspects, it will be difficult to grow in a consistent way." He also encouraged women to participate in decision-making process. He said, "There must be a conscious effort to frame policies to give women opportunities."

States like UP, Bihar holding India back: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

Development economist and activist John Dreze today said there was &quot;no evidence&quot; that the so-called &quot;Gujarat Model&quot; was a model in any sense, pointing out to the state&#39;s backwardness in social indicators.

&quot;If you look at almost any ranking of development indicators, whether it is social indicators, human development index, child development index, multi-dimensional poverty index and all the standard poverty indexes of the planning commission...Gujarat almost always comes around the middle,&quot; said the noted economist at Times LitFest here.

It was the case much before Narendra Modi became chief minister and it remained the case after that, said Dreze, who helped draft the first version of NREGA (now called the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).

Dreze, who once wrote an article titled &quot;Gujarat Muddle&quot;, recalls that the term, &quot;Gujarat model&quot;, was coined around the time of the last Lok Sabha elections (2014).

He describes the model as a counter-example, because of the disappointing social indicators inspite of the high growth in terms of standard economic indicators.

There is obviously, Dreze believes, something lacking and, in that sense, it can be an illustration of the limitations of relying on private-enterprising growth for development in the larger sense.

Commenting on ratings-agency Moody&#39;s recent upgrade of India&#39;s sovereign-credit rating to &#39;Baa2&#39; from &#39;Baa3&#39;, Dreze says he doubts the credibility of such an index.

&quot;If you dig into the methods behind these indexes, there is very little to them, except that they are taken seriously!&quot;

He also raised concerns about the Aadhaar scheme, fearing that it will create an &quot;infrastructure of surveillance&quot;.

Underlining that his opposition to Aadhaar was not related to welfare programmes, but civil liberties.

&quot;Aadhaar multiplies the power of the state to keep track of everybody over time,&quot; he said, flagging apprehensions that it could lead to stifling of dissent, as a lot of the databases that are going to be linked will be accessible to the government.

Speaking about the recent agitations of Patidars, Jats, and others for reservations, Dreze partly blamed the stagnation of agricultural growth for the unrest.

According to Dreze, the people, who have seen the size of their landholding shrink and with the population explosion in the last few decades, have certainly suffered.

&quot;That probably creates a sense of grievance, which must have translated to some of these movements, but there must be other things also,&quot; he adds.

The &#39;Gujarat Model&#39; has remained the BJP&#39;s favorite example of success in election campaigns over the years. Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, goes to polls on December 9 and 14.&nbsp;

Dreze described the model as a counter-example, because of the disappointing social indicators inspite of high growth

Development economist and activist John Dreze today said there was "no evidence" that the so-called "Gujarat Model" was a model in any sense, pointing out to the state's backwardness in social indicators. "If you look at almost any ranking of development indicators, whether it is social indicators, human development index, child development index, multi-dimensional poverty index and all the standard poverty indexes of the planning commission...Gujarat almost always comes around the middle," said the noted economist at Times LitFest here. It was the case much before Narendra Modi became chief minister and it remained the case after that, said Dreze, who helped draft the first version of NREGA (now called the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). Dreze, who once wrote an article titled "Gujarat Muddle", recalls that the term, "Gujarat model", was coined around the time of the last Lok Sabha elections (2014). He describes the model as a counter-example, because of the disappointing social indicators inspite of the high growth in terms of standard economic indicators. There is obviously, Dreze believes, something lacking and, in that sense, it can be an illustration of the limitations of relying on private-enterprising growth for development in the larger sense. Commenting on ratings-agency Moody's recent upgrade of India's sovereign-credit rating to 'Baa2' from 'Baa3', Dreze says he doubts the credibility of such an index. "If you dig into the methods behind these indexes, there is very little to them, except that they are taken seriously!" He also raised concerns about the Aadhaar scheme, fearing that it will create an "infrastructure of surveillance". Underlining that his opposition to Aadhaar was not related to welfare programmes, but civil liberties. "Aadhaar multiplies the power of the state to keep track of everybody over time," he said, flagging apprehensions that it could lead to stifling of dissent, as a lot of the databases that are going to be linked will be accessible to the government. Speaking about the recent agitations of Patidars, Jats, and others for reservations, Dreze partly blamed the stagnation of agricultural growth for the unrest. According to Dreze, the people, who have seen the size of their landholding shrink and with the population explosion in the last few decades, have certainly suffered. "That probably creates a sense of grievance, which must have translated to some of these movements, but there must be other things also," he adds. The 'Gujarat Model' has remained the BJP's favorite example of success in election campaigns over the years. Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, goes to polls on December 9 and 14.

Economist Jean Dreze punches holes in 'Gujarat Model'

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