Gujarat slips to 15th rank among 20 states in child development index; Chhattisgarh, Assam, Odisha "perform" better

By A Representative

In an important exposure, Gujarat, touted till recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “model” state for others to follow, has been ranked No 15 among 20 major Indian states in child development index (CDI). The ranking has been calculated for 2013-14 by two top economists Reetika Khera and Jean Dreze on the basis of the Government of India’s recently released summary findings of the Rapid Survey On Children 2013-14 (RSOC).
Both Khera and Dreze are development economists. While Khera teaches at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, Dreze is a visiting professor at the Department of Economics at Ranchi University. Both are known for their closeness to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s school of thought, which believes in a development model in which combines economic freedom, social protection and democracy.
The new ranking suggests that Gujarat slipped by a point, from No 14 in 2005-06, when the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) was carried out. The economists’ calculation also shows that while Gujarat’s CDI was 0.561 on a scale of 1 in 2005-06, which was above the national average (0.502), in 2013-14 it was 0.484, which is below the national average of 0.530.
The state, which ranked No 1 both in 2005-06 and in 2013-14, was Kerala. This followed by Tamil Nadu in 2005-06 and Himachal Pradesh in 2013-14. The worst performer in 2005-06 was Bihar, which ranked second from bottom in 2013-14, even though it witnessed considerable progress – from the CDI of 0.070 to 0.294 over the eight years. Uttar Pradesh ranked last in 2013-14 with a CDI of 0.144, down from 0.333 eight years earlier.
What is particularly significant is that it is not just the “developed” states, which score much better than Gujarat in the 2013-14 CDI – such as Himachal Pradesh (0.866), Tamil Nadu (0.863), Punjab (0.789), Maharashtra (0.769), Andhra Pradesh (0.762) and Karnataka (0.759). Even the “poorer” states such as Chhattisgarh, Assam and Odisha performed better than Gujarat with a CDI score of 0.616, 0.553, and 0.525 respectively.

The CDI has been worked on the basis of taking into account four different categories – proportion of children aged 12-23 months who are fully immunized, female literacy rate in the age-group 10-14, proportion of births preceded by health checkup, and proportion of children below age 5 who are not underweight.
The two scholars comment, despite all this, there have been “budget cuts”, which “threaten to undermine child nutrition programmes”, adding, “The ranking is quite similar in both years and its basic features are familiar. At the top of the list come Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – states that might be called "supermodels" if Gujarat were a model, which it is not.”
“Predictably”, they point out, the “lagging states” include the “undivided Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.” Yet, there are “some important contrasts”, with Chhattisgarh “detaching itself from the rest as far as child development is concerned”, ranking “above the all-India average, and of course above Gujarat.”
Though Bihar is “still close to the bottom”, the scholars comment, “In absolute terms, it has progressed a great deal (from an abysmally low base) between 2005-6 and 2013-14. The proportion of births preceded by an ante-natal checkup in Bihar shot up from 34 per cent in 2005-6 to 85 per cent in 2013-14 – the largest improvement among all major states by a long margin. Similarly, the proportion of children fully immunised jumped from 33 per cent to 60 per cent.”

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Global LNG boom 'threatens climate goals': Banks urged to end financing

By A Representative The world is on the brink of an unprecedented surge in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development, with 279 new projects planned globally, threatening to derail international climate goals and causing severe local impacts. This stark warning comes from a coalition of organizations—including Reclaim Finance, Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, and others—that today launched the " Exit LNG " website, a new mapping project exposing the extent of the expansion, the companies involved, and their bank financiers.

Search This Blog