http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/WorldEconomy/Muslims-SC-STs-gained-most-HDI-report/Article1-760022.aspx
Muslims, SC/ STs gained most: HDI report
Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, October 21, 2011
India's Human Development Index (HDI) showed an impressive gain of 21%
between 1999-2000 and 2007-08 with the Muslims and the backwards
catching up with others on socio-economic indicators even though the
gap was still very big.
A Planning Commission report released a day
before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is meeting of chief ministers to
decide on plan approach for next five years (12th plan) says the
Muslims and Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) were
converging on health and education outcomes at a faster rate with the
national average, especially during last six years.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/22_10_pg10a.jpg
The report also said that Gujarat, described as epitome for
development by BJP, had highest incidence of malnutrition among
Muslim, SC and ST women and was ranked 13 out of 17 states on hunger
index, below much poorer Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam.
"Inspite of high economic growth Gujarat fares the worst in terms of
overall hunger index among high per capita income states," said
Santosh Mehrotra, Director-General of the plan panel's Institute of
Applied Manpower Research.
The report findings had panel's deputy chairperson Montek Singh
Ahluwalia beaming who said it presents a "nice picture" and said
inclusiveness was multi-dimensional and the report clearly shows how
"growth has helped to reduce poverty".
Mehrotra agreed but his alarm was that the number of poor has come
down by just 19 million since 1973-74 --- when poverty was measured
for the first time in India --- to be around 302 million in 2004-05.
The report said poverty among SC and ST remain much higher than the
national average, an area of concern for policy makers. On the
brighter note, the report said these backward sections, considered
lowest on ten socio-economic indicators such as monthly spending,
infant and maternal mortality rate and fertility rate, were converging
with the national average on six of these indicators.
"Fertility rate among Muslim women had witnessed maximum dip among
different social groups and higher share of Muslim infants compared to
national average lived beyond their first birth day," the report
having special focus on Muslims among different religious groups said.
Over 55 % of Muslims, SC and STs live in poorest HDI score states ---
Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh and West Bengal --- who have gained the most from "social
inclusion through economic growth".
"The average growth of most of these states has been above the
national GDP growth rate suggesting convergence over time in terms of
economic growth," the report said. Maximum progress these states have
made is enrollment of children in schools and increase in per capita
income.
Child malnutrition, termed as a "puzzle" by Rural Development minister
Jairam Ramesh, was an exception to this social inclusion phenomenon
with children in 17 of 35 Indian states having higher malnourishment
rate than in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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