A fiscal stimulus that comes from the poorest states of the country will enable them to raise capex spending, boost growth and catch up with the others
On many development parameters, India appears to be almost like a continent, with different states at vastly different stages of development. Underlying such stark differences are differences in the levels of per capita incomes, and such differences have risen sharply over the past two decades, a Mint analysis shows.
At the beginning of the millennium, the per capita income of the five richest states (based on per capita income) in India was 145% higher than that of the bottom states. That difference rose to 289% in 2010-11, and further to 338% in 2017-18.
Another way to gauge the inequality between states is to look at the coefficient of variation in per capita incomes, which provides a summary measure of the extent of differences between the states. This measure rose from 42.2% in 2000-01 to 57.8% in 2017-18, indicating growing divergence in the fortunes of states.
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