In Charts: Where Gujarat Stands On Social Indicators
Has Gujarat’s economic expansion resulted in inclusive growth?
Gujarat has sustained high levels of economic growth over the past few years. It is among the fastest growing Indian states, but has managed to keep fiscal deficit under check and and inflation lower than the national average.
Despite the state’s economic well-being, it still lags on several social indicators. Gujarat is yet to catch up with other comparable states particularly on infrastructure for public health and welfare, and access to education, data compiled by BloombergQuint shows.
A day ahead of counting of votes in the crucial assembly election that could see Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party back in power, here are ten charts that show how Gujarat has fared on these parameters when compared with Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Literacy
Gujarat has the second lowest literacy rate among the states considered for this analysis, as per the 2011 Census, which is the latest available data. Kerala remains the benchmark state for literacy in India.
Number Of Colleges
Access to education remains a key hurdle for the state. Gujarat has just 28 colleges for every one lakh people. This is also lower than the national average.
Female Education
Gujarat remains a laggard in giving women equal access to education. The ratio of the number of females who are enrolled in all levels of state education to the number of males stands at 0.8. Kerala outperforms every other states with more women getting enrolled than men.
Higher Secondary Education
The number of students who enroll in higher secondary schools after completing secondary education is far less in Gujarat compared to the other four states. Karnakata fares the worse. The number is the highest for Kerala.
Technical Education
Gujarat has a fewer engineering, technology, management and chartered accountancy institutes compared to the other states. For applied arts, it has none. However, it is the only state among the ones used for this comparison with institutes for town planning.
Social Sector
Gujarat’s spending on the social sector is the second highest among the states compared with Maharashtra topping the list. Of its total spending, Gujarat allocates nearly 41 percent towards the social sector development.
Spending On Health
Among the five states, Gujarat allocates the highest proportion of its expenditure towards public health and family welfare. Maharashtra allocates the least.
Lack Of Doctors
Despite the higher spending, there is a shortfall of doctors at community and public health centres and sub-centres in Gujarat. The deficit is the most in Gujarat among the states compared. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have a surplus of doctors.
Female Population
Gujarat remains among the worst in terms of sex ratio, according to the 2011 Census which is the latest available data. For every 100 males, the state has 92 females. The figure is the highest in Kerala where females outnumber males.
Poverty
The poverty rate in Gujarat, according to the 2011 Census is 16.63 percent. While it is higher than that of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it is less than that of Karnataka.
