Madhya Pradesh in the bottom half of all State-level rankings | Data Premium

Madhya Pradesh lags behind most States in all economic and social indicators

Jabalpur: Voters wait in queues at a polling station to cast their votes for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, in Jabalpur, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections took place on November 17. A comparison of the economic, social, and environmental indicators of the State with the indicators of other States shows that Madhya Pradesh features at the bottom half. Also, its relative ranking among the States remained stagnant in most of the indicators between 2015-16 and 2019-21.

Table 1 | The table lists Madhya Pradesh’s rank in social indicators and its actual score in an indicator in 2019-21, 2015-16, and 2005-06. It also shows the change in rank in 2019-21 from 2015-16. The performance of the top three States in the indicator is also given for comparison.

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For instance, Madhya Pradesh had 35.7% stunted children (low height-for-age) in 2019-21, and ranked 25 out of 30 States. The three best-performing States that year were Kerala (23.4%), Punjab (24.5%), and Tamil Nadu (25%). In this indicator, Madhya Pradesh’s ranking improved by just one spot in 2019-21 from 2015-16, the year when the State was placed 26th out of the 30 States.

Across most social indicators, there has been no notable improvement in the last few years. For instance, the share of girls/women who attended school was 64% in 2015-16 and improved to only 67.5% in 2019-21. Only those aged six and above were considered. The share of underweight children (low weight-for-age) improved marginally from 42.8% to 33%, while the infant mortality rate recorded a small improvement from 51.2 to 41.3. The State’s ranking in the parameter of underweight children improved only by two spots (from 28 to 26), and in the parameter of infant mortality rate only by one spot (28 to 27), among the 30 States considered.

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In fact, a comparison with data from 2005-06 shows that the rankings have hardly improved since. In that period, Madhya Pradesh ranked at the bottom of the table in many social indicators. It no longer holds that dubious distinction. For instance, in 2005-06, the State ranked at the bottom of the list in the share of wasted children (weight-for-height) and underweight children. In 2005-06, only 28 States were considered for comparison; the data of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were ignored.

Table 2 | The table shows Madhya Pradesh’s actual score in the human development index (HDI) and the change in rank in 2021, compared to 1990.

Given the inferior social rankings, Madhya Pradesh’s rank in the Human Development Index (HDI) remained poor in 1990 and 2021 as well. In 1990, its HDI ranking was 26 of 30 States; this slid to 27 in 2021. (Table 2).

Table 3 | The table shows Madhya Pradesh’s per capita net state domestic product and its change in rank in 2021-22, compared to 1993-94.

Madhya Pradesh’s economic performance is among the worst in the country. In fact, its ranking worsened between 1993-94 and 2021-22. In 1993-94, the State ranked 19 of 27 States in Per Capita Net State Domestic Product (current prices), as seen in Table 3. This declined by two spots in 2021-22. Notably, over half the population in the State belongs to the lowest two wealth quintiles (Table 4).

Table 4 | The table shows the share of the population belonging to the lowest two wealth quintiles in Madhya Pradesh. 

Madhya Pradesh’s manufacturing sector employed around 7% of the State’s workforce and the sector’s share in total Gross Value Added was about 9%. The State ranks at the bottom half of the table in both measures (Table 5).

Table 5 | The table shows Madhya Pradesh’s rank in indicators related to manufacturing.

In educational indicators, in 2020, Madhya Pradesh ranked over 20 of the 30 States on indicators such as enrolment in elementary, higher secondary, and college-level education. The Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education was only 21.5%. (Table 6).

Table 6 | The table shows Madhya Pradesh’s rank in indicators related to education.

While the State lags behind the country in terms of economic performance, it is better in environment-related indicators (Table 7). The State generated a relatively lower amount of hazardous and plastic waste and featured at the top half of the State lists.

Table 7 | The table shows Madhya Pradesh’s rank in environment-related indicators.

Source: National Family Health Surveys, Global Data Lab ad NITI Aayog

vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in and rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in

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