Dec 11 2017

The BJP says it’s fighting the elections in Gujarat on the so-called “development” plank. It is for the electorate to decide, and half of them have already done so, whether they want to reward the incumbent state government for the “development” they have witnessed — enough water for households, electricity in every house, good roads, higher income from agricultural produce, other big ticket infrastructure — whatever the issues the electorate want to highlight upon.

Gujarat remains one of the fastest growing states, and has managed to keep its fiscal deficit in check. But despite all the development that has happened in the state, it remains sluggish when it comes to social indicators — health, welfare and access to education. According to a study by Bloomberg Quint, the state has the second lowest literacy rate, as per the 2011 census. Literacy rate is 78.03 per cent, compared to Kerala, with 94 per cent, or Maharashtra, with 82.34 per cent. Regarding access to education (measured by the prevalence of colleges per lakh people), the state fares lower than the national average.

It has only 28 colleges for every lakh people, compared to 50 for Karnataka and 43 for Kerala. Gujarat is also laggard in terms of gender parity in education, the report says. Students who enrol in higher secondary schools after completing secondary education are far less in Gujarat compared to Kerala, which also fares very well here. The state also has fewer engineering, technology, management and chartered accountancy institutes compared to other states.

Interestingly, Gujarat’s spending on the social sector is the second highest among the states compared with Maharashtra, which tops the list. That the state is still a laggard in social indicators could be because the issue is of such magnitude that even an earnest effort by successive governments there is not making any significant changes to the grassroots. Or it could be the manner in which the schemes are targeted, or the priorities given. This is not to take away any laurels from the BJP government in the state, for its continued push for investments, its thrust on infrastructure, and its efforts to ensure more social stability, which is also quite important for businesses.