Beyond Gujarat Model: Study Shows Similarity With Bihar In Poverty, Malnutrition, Health, Education

Gujarat, known for being a developmental model for its purported rapid industrial expansion, was found to be one of the states that lagg behind several key parameters, including health care, education, and poverty management. The revelation was made by a new study titled ‘India: The Challenge of Contrasted Regional Dynamics’.

The study discovered huge socio-economic disparities in the so-called development model state. The paper analysed three states—Bihar, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu—and compared differences in socioeconomic and governance policies that shaped their developmental trajectories over the years.

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Surprisingly, the findings pointed out that Gujarat’s socio-economic inequalities in  education and poverty management, are much closer to Bihar, the poorest state in India.

The research paper, co-authored by Christophe Jaffrelot, Vignesh Rajahmani and Neal Bharadwaj and published by Institut Montaigne, claimed that although Gujarat is wealthy, it struggles in terms of public spending progression. The study noted that inequalities have gripped the state due to its persistently decreased investments in key sectors such as education.

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The report thus noted that Bihar, despite its limited resources, invests massively in such ares while Tamil Nadu even more. However, Gujarat is significantly dawdled with its budget allocation for education, health, and housing, among other sectors, falling short of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, claims the study.

The report then underscored that bridging developmental gaps despite limited resources, Bihar has consistently allocated a significantly higher share of its Gross State Domestic Products (GSDP) to social spending, reaching an impressive 22.25% in 2021-22.” Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu, with its focus on human development, maintained expenditure between 4.90% and 6.01% during the same period.

The study hence concluded that the Gujarat model is focused towards infrastructure development, while the other two states spend much on social investment, showing their commitment towards overall human resources development.

According to Jaffrelot, one of the co-authors of the research paper, Gujarat stands tall in several development criteria but is closer to Bihar in many others, including malnutrition and the poverty gap and the number of people living below the poverty line.

“It is doing better (than Tamil Nadu) in terms of electricity production and roads. Roads are probably what Narendra Modi invested in the most as chief minister. But Gujarat is close to Bihar in many respects, including malnutrition and the poverty gap—the rate of people living below the poverty line. Rate of education is not great at all,” The Wire quoted Jaffrelot, adding that if there is a model in India today, it is Tamil Nadu.

Lauding Tamil Nadu, Jaffrelot. went on to say that the state has almost eradicated poverty, industrialized at a high pace, and where services are taking over from industry. This is something you don’t see in Gujarat. He predicted that Tamil Nadu will completely eradicate poverty by 2037, while Gujarat will be by 2050.

He also stressed the need to look at the BJP as an elitist party, apart from being a Hindu nationalist one, highlighting that the saffron party is prone to crony capitalism.

It is claimed that the economic divide is also likely to exacerbate regional disparities, and the lack of development in the Hindi belt would perpetuate inequality, shaping India’s overall economic landscape. BJP development. The report further observed that Bihar has been affected by the quasi-feudal order inherited from the colonial era, while Gujarat has been affected by the caste system, which favored inequalities.

While Gujarat has more invested in infrastructure, Tamil Nadu has given emphasis on human capital such as education and healthcare, the report added.