Inequitable development
1 Apr 2010, 0231 hrs IST,Tina Edwin,ET Bureau
The tragedy about data collection in India is that by the time primary
data is converted into useable information, it may be too late to aid
policy
intervention. This is true of data collected by not just government
agencies such as the National Sample Survey Organisation but also
think tanks such as National Council for Applied Economic Research
(NCAER).
One of the criticisms of Human Development in India: Challenges for a
Society in Transition — a report put together by NCAER and Institute
of Maryland, US — is that it is based on data collected in 2004-05,
and it does not capture the impact of the changes of the past few
years when the economy grew at more than 8% on an average every year.
That, however, should not mean that the report should be dismissed. It
brings out various dimensions of human development to understand
social inequalities, based on survey of 41,554 households in 1,503
villages and 971 urban blocks across 33 states and Union territories.
Many of its findings are an eye-opener, while some others a
reaffirmation of conclusion of other independent studies.
Consider social inequities and income disparity. Conventional belief
holds that growth has percolated to the lowest denominator. But this
was not so, at least five years ago, when the survey was conducted.
The disadvantaged continued to suffer. This was seen in the
disparities based on caste, ethnicity and religion. It was found that
Dalits and adivasis continued to be at the bottom of most indicators
of well being, Muslims and other backward classes (OBCs) in the
middle, and forward caste Hindus and other minority religions at the
top.
Indicators used to measure development were household incomes and
poverty rates, land ownership and agriculture incomes, health and
education. In terms of household incomes, adivasis and Dalits were the
worst off with annual incomes of Rs 20,000 and Rs 22,800 respectively.
OBCs and Muslim households were slightly better off, while forward
castes and other minorities (Jains, Sikhs and Christians) had median
incomes of Rs 48,000 and Rs 52,000, respectively.
Disparities between social groups can be attributed mostly to
historical reasons, as also to difference in access to livelihood.
Salaried jobs traditionally pay better than casual labour or farming.
But permanent jobs elude the disadvantaged classes for reasons ranging
from living in rural areas, lower education and fewer connections for
job search.
Affirmative actions such as reservation in colleges have not helped
the disadvantaged to join the mainstream due to inequities at the
primary school level.
So, it is not surprising that forward castes dominate salaried jobs.
The report illustrates this: more than three out of 10 men from
forward caste and minority religions (other than Muslims) have
salaried jobs against about two out of 10 Muslims, OBCs and Dalit men.
The disadvantages classes — Dalits, adivasis and Muslims — have fewer
social network ties, and this gets translated into lower access to
education and jobs.
Efforts at inclusive growth had not really paid off, seen from the
continuing regional and gender inequalities. Women earned less than
men for the same job, and the inequality was more accentuated in rural
areas. For instance, a woman in rural areas earned 54 paise for every
rupee earned by a man and in urban areas, a woman earned 68 paise.
Many indicators would have improved by now, particularly as GDP and
per-capita income have almost doubled since the survey. But disparity
is unlikely to have narrowed much. Policymakers could draw inference
from the findings to improve targeting of programmes aimed at
inclusive growth.
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