Gujarat social sector spending poor, not commensurate with economic growth: RBI

The Gujarat government’s claim that its social sector expenditure has been on a radical upswing – an urgent requirement considering the state’s known poor performance in health, education, water resources and poverty alleviation – appears to have gone phut. If the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) document “State Finances: A Study of Budgets 2014-15”, is any guide, Gujarat ranks 14th among 18 non-special category states in spending funds for the social sector, despite a high rate of growth.
Measured as proportion to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the state’s social sector expenditure in 2014-15 was 6.4 per cent of the GSDP in the financial year 2014-15, RBI data show. As per cent of GSDP, the poorer states have performed much better, suggests RBI, with Bihar topping the list with 15.1 per cent of the GSDP, followed closely by Chhattisgarh (14.7 per cent).

On the other hand, “richer” states, following Gujarat, have equally formed poorly -- Maharashtra speding 6.1 per cent of GSDP, Tamil Nadu 6.1 per cent, Haryana 6 per cent and Punjab 5.2 per cent. Economists consider calculating social sector expenditure as percentage of GSDP an imporatant indictor suggesting whether the benefits of economic growth are being passed on to the socially and economically disadvantaged sections of population.
In yet another measurement – social sector expenditure as per cent of total budgetary spending – again Gujarat is found to be performing worse than nine other states, ranking No 10th. While Gujarat’s social sector spending was 43.2 per cent of the budget, RBI data suggest, the best performing state was Chhattisgarh with 55.4 per cent, followed by Bihar (52 per cent) and Jharkhand (51.2 per cent).

A further insight into the social sector shows that Gujarat’s lag vis-à-vis other states is mainly in the field of education. Despite the much-publicized Kanya Kelavni drive to enroll children, especially girls, in primary schools, Gujarat spent 15.8 per cent of its budget on education in 2014-15. RBI data show, this was the worse than nine other states. Here again, Bihar, spending 21.4 per cent of the budget on education, tops, followed by Chhattisgarh (20.1 per cent) and Maharashtra (18.8 per cent).
RBI data, however, show that Gujarat’s ranks much better on spending on healthcare with 5.4 per cent of the total budgetary spending, which is worse than only three states – Rajasthan (6.6 per cent), Kerala (5.5 per cent) and Goa (5.5 per cent). On healthcare spending, Bihar performs very poorly with just about 4.1 per cent of the budget. The worst performer on this score is Andhra Pradesh (4 per cent of the budget).

The data, released in May second week, come against the backdrop of Gujarat government claim that it had set aside a bigger amount, 48 per cent of the annual plan for 2015-16, for the social sector. However, experts say, the proof of pudding is in eating – it is difficult to say whether the state government will be able to spend the amount it has allocated for the social sector.
State finance minister Saurabh Patel, presenting the budget in February-end 2015, had claimed that he had “allocated” more on health, education, women and child development and malnutrition, adding, for the first time, the state has introduced gender-based budgeting, with many of its new schemes directed at upliftment of girls and women. This was done because Gujarat a woman chief minister, he insisted.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog