What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India?

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Regional disparities refers to the differences in the equality and uneven distribution of economic, social, and infrastructural development between different geographic regions within a country. This leads to a situation whereby there is a creation of islands of prosperity in a sea of poverty.

Key indicators of regional disparity:

Economic Output (GDP): States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu have significantly higher Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) compared to states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
Social Development Indicators: States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu lead in literacy rates, healthcare facilities, and human development indices, SDG indicators, while states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh lag far behind.

How disparity is different from diversity?

Regional Diversity refers to the natural, cultural, and socio-economic differences between regions that are rooted in geography, ethnicity, history, and traditions. For e.g. cuisine, clothing, languages

Disparity has a negative connotation – focus on inequality across regions; Diversity has a positive connotation – focus on richness.

Types of diversities:

Lingusitics – more than 1600 languages
Religious – multi-religious society, with Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and others
Geographical Diversity – from Himalayas to Deccan Plateau, From Grasslands in Banni, Desert in Rajasthan to Dense forests of Western Ghats and North East India.
Cultural diversity – festivals, art forms, and cuisine

Severity of Regional Disparity in India

Interstate/Intrastate agitations – separate state of Telangana was formed on the pretext of intra – state regional imbalance in terms of development.

- - Still there are agitations for separate Vidarbha State in Maharashtra and Bodoland movement in Assam for separate Bodo State for Bodos.

Economic Imbalance: E.g. the per capita income in Maharashtra is approximately ₹215,000, while in Bihar it is around ₹40,000,

Migration: due to work related opportunities, nearly three in every ten persons (29.1%) in India were migrants as of 2020-21 –

Pressure on resources: Establishment of several industries at one place leads to shortage of houses as a result rental charges will increase abnormally. For example, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad and overpopulation leads to water crisis.
Reduced GDP growth: Study by world bank found that 10% decrease in regional disparities in India could lead to 1.5% increase in overall GDP.

Government Initiatives to Address Regional Disparities

- Aspirational District Programme of NITI Aayog.

Special Category Status: Certain states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were given special category status.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA)

Way Forward:

Decentralised planning and development

Promote Regional Industrialization through Targeted Policies: e.g.Mineral-rich states like Odisha and Jharkhand can focus on mining, steel, and power sectors.

Tailor skill development to local economic activities:

- In Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, promote skill development in tourism, handicrafts, and horticulture.
- In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where a large population depends on agriculture, focus on agro-based industries and modern farming techniques.

The islands of poverty, created due to regional disparities, needs focus both at the federal and local levels and utilise the positive push of diversity. By transforming these “islands of poverty” into hubs of opportunity, India can create a more balanced and sustainable development model, contributing to the nation’s collective prosperity.