Kotak GameChanger Perspectives: Revitalizing the Ganga

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Defining the Gangetic belt
The states we identify as part of the Gangetic belt are (from north to south): Uttarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal (see map
below). We do not take into account Delhi, a Union Territory. Ganga practically forms the
boundary between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh but flows into the latter and hence we take only
Uttar Pradesh into account. The major tributaries that flow in various states are: Rajasthan –
Chambal and Banas; Madhya Pradesh – Chambal and Betwa; Chhattisgarh – Son and
Jharkhand – Damodar.
The critical importance of the Gangetic belt
India’s comparison with China or other parts of the world is based on a picture presented by
the all-India average. India, however, is a country of continental proportions and hence, data in
India needs to be de-averaged to make sense of it. We note that Gangetic states account for
exactly half of India’s population (as per Census 2011 data). However, these states have 56% of
India’s youth in the age range of 4-18 years (or those that will come into the workforce in the
next 15 years). This is where most of the demographic dividend has been born. Bringing up the
socio-indicators in these states is important not just from the perspective of bringing up India’s
averages but in building a bright future for its youth.
How to keep score?
The parameters on which we measure these states and compare them with the rest of India are:
(1) population parameters like urbanization, sex ratio, life expectancy, median age, size of the
demographic dividend; (2) social parameters like the proportion of children in school, infant and
maternal mortality rates, fertility rates, recording of births and deaths and immunization rates;
(3) infrastructure parameters like quality of housing, per capita power, road length and water
availability (4) the size of land parcels (a good determinant of agricultural efficiency), given the
dominance of agriculture in these regions, and (5) economic parameters like per capita
consumption and its components, manufacturing as a percentage of state GDP, quality of
employment.
Healthy competition and mutual learning are crucial
The parameters are not exhaustive but they provide a good color on the backwardness of
people in these states. There is significant work that needs to be done to simply pull up the
Gangetic states to national averages. Healthy competition between states can improve
outcomes for citizens: this has been the theme over the last few years and the partnership
between Centre and states is the mantra of the new government. For India, the reaping of the
demographic dividend and cleaning of the Ganga depends on development of these states:
there is not a moment to waste.

LINK
http://www.kotaksecurities.com/pdf/indiadaily/indiadaily01122014aa.pdf