UNIT 8 DEVELOPMENTAL DISPARITIES:

MARGINALISATION
Structure
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Objectives
8.2 Approaches to Study of Indicators of Development: Means of Knowing
Disparities
8.2.1 UNRISD Approach
8.2.2 Adelman and Moms Approach
8.2.3 Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)
8.2.4 Human Development Index
8.3 Developmental Disparities: Concept and Significance
8.3.1 Concept of Disparity
8.3.2 Significance of Disparities: Marginalisation of the Deprived
8.4 Types of Disparities
8.4.1 Global Disparities: Inter-regional and Inter-Country Disparities
8.4.2 Disparities in India
8.4.2.1 Inter-state Disparities
8.4.2.2 Rural-urban Disparities
8.4.2.3 Inter-religiousDisparities
8.5 Causes of Disparity
8.5.1 Failures of Economic Growth
8.5.2 Inequalities in Land Ownership
8.5.3 Private Ownership of Industries, Trade and Buildings
8.5.4 Inequalities in Professional Training
8.5.5 Rapid Price Rise and Adverse Terms of Trade
8.5.6 Poor Availability of Credit Facilities
8.5.7 Urban Bias in Private Investment
8.5.8 Role of the Govenunent
8.5.9 Conflicts and Displaced Persons
8.6 Strategy and Measures to Overcome Disparities in Developing Countries
8.6.1 Strategy for Attacking Poverty in Developing Countries
8.6.2 Measures to Reduce Inequalities/Disparitiesin Developing Countries
' 8.6.2.1 Rising Productivity of Small-scale Agriculture
8.6.2.2 Land Reforms and Redistribution of Land
8.6.2.3 Programmes for Increasing Employment Opportunities
8.6.2.4 Strengthening and Enhancing Production of Small-scale and Intinmat
Sectors
8.6.2.5 Emphasising Labour-intensive Industrialisation
8.6.2.6 Programmes for Upliftment of the Rural Poor
8.6.2.7 Progressive Tax Policy
8.6.2.8 Sustained Investment in People to Enhance Human Capabilities
8.6.2.9 Subsidising Goods and Services
8.6.2.10 Providing Infrastructure

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8.6.2.11 Social Security System
.
 # ,

8.6.2.12 People's Participation in Development Developmc!ntal Disparities:

Marginalisation
8.6.2.13 PromotingAccountability
8.7 Measures Undertaken for Reducing Disparities in India
8.7.1 Measures to Overcome Inter-state Disparity
8.7.2 Measures to Overcome Rural-Urban Disparity
8.7.3 Measures to Overcome Inter-caste/CommunityDisparity
8.7.4 Measures to Overcome Gender Disparity
8.7.5 Major Comprehensive Drive to Reduce Disparities: Inclusive Growth
8.7.5.1 Inclusive Development: Role of Extension Education in Reducing
Disparities
8.8 LetUsSumUp
8.9 Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions
8.10 References

8.0 INTRODUCTION
You may recall that in Unit-4 of Block- 1 of this course we have discussed the
concept of development as well as the dimensions, factors and indicators of
development, among other things. You may revisit Unit-4 for refreshing your
memory which will be useful to you in better understanding of the developmental
disparities we will be discussing in the present unit.

We know that the standard of living of some people is higher with their greater
access to many facilities while many others are at relatively lower levels and do
not have adequateaccess to the required facilities.Further, some others are below
poverty line and do not have access to even the minimum basic resources and
facilities. It is difficult for us to understand all these differences or disparities
among the people if we do not know the indicators of development or disparities
in it. We need to understand different aspects of developmental disparities and
the significance of eliminating or reducing such disparities in the context of
overall development or national development.

In Unit 8, we will be discussing different aspects of developmental disparities.

We will highlight the concept, types, measures/indicators and causes of disparities
including those leading to marginalization. We will also touch upon important
measures required for eliminating or reducing these disparities and for inclusion
of the marginalsied into mainstream of development. In this context, we will
also touch upon the role that extension education can play in promoting such
inclusive development.

8.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
Explain the concept of disparities in the light of various approaches to the
study of indicators of development;
Describe various types of disparities and their relevance in the context of
development;
Discuss the causes of different disparities and analyse the effect of disparities
on marginalization;
111
Dynamim of Extension and the significance of the measures required as well as undertaken
Development
to overcome them; and
Explain the role of extension education in promoting inclusive growth.

8.2 APPROACHES TO STUDY OFINDICATORS OF

DEVELOPMENT: MEANS OF KNOWING
DISPARITIES
As you may recall, we have discussed in Unit 4 broad categories or types indicators
of development including the problems associated with each type. In respect of
using per capita GNP as a measure of development, the major objections are
about its failure to include non-marketed (and therefore non-priced) subsistence
production such as house-hold or house-makers' work and to incorporate welfare
and income distribution considerations. As a result, there have been numerous
efforts both to remedy its defects as a measure and to create other composite
measurelindicator that could serve as compliment or alternative to this traditional
measure. Basically, such indicators fall into two categories:

i) indicators that seek to measure development in terms of interaction among

social, economic and political factors, and
ii) indicators that measure development in terms of quality of life.
We will have a brief overview of these indicatorsthat serve as means to understand
the disparities including marginalization.

8.2.1 UNRISD Approach

One of the major studies relating to the first category of indicators i.e. indicators
that seek to measure development in terms of interaction among social, economic
and political factors, was carried out by the United Nations Research Institute on
Social Development (UNRISD) in 1970 (Mentioned in Ray, 1996). The study
was concerned with the selection of the most appropriate indicators of -
development on the basis of an analysis of the relationship between these
indicators at different levels of development. The result of the study was the
construction of a composite social development index. Out of 73 indicators
examined only 16 core indicators (9 social and 7 economic indicators) were
selected for this index. The list of these 16 core indicators of socio-economic
development is given below.
Table 8.1: UNRISD List of Core Indicators of Socio-economic Development
S1. Core Indicator
No.
1. Expectation of life at birth.
2. Percentage of population in localities of 20,000 and over.
3. Consumption of animal proteins per capita per day.
4. Combined primary and secondary enrolment.
5. Vocational enrolment ratio.
6. Average number of persons per room.
112
7. Newspaper circulation per 1000 population.
8. Percentage of economically active population with electricity, gas, water,
etc.
9 Agricultural production per male agricultural worker.
10. Percentage of adult male labour in agriculture.
11. Electricity consumption, Kw per capita.
12. Steel consumption, Kg per capita.
13. Energy consumption -Kg of coal equivalent per capita.
14. Percentage GDP derived from manufacturing.
15. Foreign trade per capita in US dollars.
16. Percentage of the salaried and wage earners to total economically active
population.

S1.No. Variable
1. Size of the traditional agricultural sector.
2. Extent of dualism.
3. Extent of urbanization.
4. Character of basic social organization.
5. Importance of indigenous middle class.
6. Extent of social mobility.
7. Extent of literacy.
8. Extent of mass communication.
9. Degree of cultural and ethnic homogeneity.
10. Degree of social tension.
11 Crude fertility rate.
12. Degree of modernization of outlook.
13. Degree of national integration and sense of national unity.
14. Extent of centralization of political power.
15. Strength of democratic institutions.
16. Degree of freedom of political opposition and press.
17. Degree of competitiveness of political parties.
18 Predominant basis of the political party system.
Dynamics of Extension and
Development 19. Strength of the labour movement.
20. Political strength of the traditional elite.
21. Political strength of the military.
22. Degree of administrative efficiency.
23. Extent of leadership commitment to economic development.
24. Extent of political stability.
25. Per capita GNP in 1961.
26. Rate of growth of real per capita GNP: 1950-51 - 1963-64.
27. Abundance of natural resources.
28. Gross investment rate.
29. Level of modernisation of industry.
30. Change in degree of industrialisation since 1950.
3 1. Character of agricultural organization.
32. Level of modernization of techniques in agriculture.
33. Degree of improvement in agricultural productivity since 1950.
34. Level of adequacy of physical overhead capital.
35. Degree of improvement in physical overhead capital since 1950.
36. Level of effectiyeness of the tax system.
37. Degree of improvement in the tax system since 1950.
38. Degree of improvement in human resources.
39. Level of effectiveness of financial institutions.
40. Structure of foreign trade.

Source: Irma Adelman and Cynthia Taft Morris. 1967. Society, Politics and Economic
Development. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

The above variables are based on factor analysis. This technique was used for
examining the interdependence between social and political variables and the
level of economic development. The authors of this study found numerous
correlations between certain key variables and economic development.

However, the two approaches discussed above are not free from criticism. The
major criticism is that these studies seek tomeasure development in terms of
structural change rather than in terms of human welfare.

8.2.3 Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)

To meet the criticisms of two approaches discussed above, Morris (Mentioned
in University Grants Commission, 1988)has developed another criterion known
as Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI). Three indicators viz. life expectancy,
infant-mortality and literacy have been used to form a simple composite index.
For each indicator, the performance of individual country is rated on a scale of 1
to 100, where 1 represents the "worst" performance and 100 as the "best"
performance for a country. For life expectancy,the upper limit of 100was assigned
to 77 years (achieved in Sweden in 1973) and lower limit of 50 was assigned to Developmental~palmeg:
Marginalisation
28 years (the life expectancy of Guinea Bissau in 1950). Within these limits,
each country's life expectancy falling between these limits of 77 and 28 is assigned
the rating of 50. For infant mortality, the upper limit was set at 9 per 1000 (achieved
by Sweden in 1973) and lower limit at 229 per 1000 (achieved by Taiwan, 1950).
Literacy rates measured as percentages from 1 to 100 provide their own direct
scale. Once country's performance in life expectancy, infant mortality and literacy
have been rated on the scale of 1 to 100, the composite index (PQLI) for the
country is calculated by averaging the three ratings, giving equal weightage to
each of them.

Demerits: The major weakness of PQLI is that it fails to incorporate other social
and psychological factors like security,justice, human rights, etc. Amore serious
criticism of this measure is that it assigns equal weight to each of the indicators
used in forming the index while measures such as life expectancy and infant
mortality do not reflect the similar phenomena.

8.2.4 Human Development Index

The economic measures of development have often been supplemented by non-
economic social indicators like gains in literacy, schooling, health conditions
and services, etc. In this regard the notable and latest attempt to analyse the
comparativesocio-economic development has been undertaken by United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) in its annual series of Human Development
Reports. These reports which were initiated in 1990 have focused on the
construction and refinement of Human Development Index (HDI). HDI ranks
all the countries within the range of "0" (lowest HDI) and " 1" (highest HDI) and
is based on three goals of development: i) Longevity, measured by life expectancy
at birth, ii) Knowledge, measured by adult literacy (two-third) and schooling
(one-third), and iii) Standard of living, measured by real per capita income.
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
. - "Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
1) What are the approaches to the study of indicators of development that
serve as means to understand the developmental disparities?
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Dynamics of Extension and
Development 8.3 DEVELOPMENTAL DISPARITIES: CONCEPT
AND SIGNIFICANCE
Different approaches to the study of the indicators of development discussed
above will help us in understanding the broad nature of disparities in development.
Let us look at these disparities below.

8.3.1 Concept of Disparity

Disparity means the condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree
(http://www.thefieedictionary.cornldisparity). For instance:
Age disparity - being young, middle-aged, old, etc.
Rank disparity - being a chaprasi, clerk, an officer, etc.
Degree of disparity -being poor, average, excellent (as in the condition of
a car), or developed, developing, underdeveloped (as in the status of
development of a country), etc.

Similarly, it is not justifiable to evaluate the performance of different caders in

an organization, with the same yardstick, as their levels of understanding, their
levels of intelligence, their knowledge base, the nature of their work, etc., differ
from each other. An officer's performance would be judged on the basis of certain
yardsticks which would be different from those of a clerk, or a chaprasi. Countries
may be new and old, but they are at different levels of development. Some
countries like the U.S.A., Norway, and Sweden are at a much higher stage of
development compared to countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal or some African
countries. Comparisons between such countries may not be justifiable. So, if
disparity between the status of various countries exist, they cannot be compared
in terms of their levels of development (http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/ bitstream1
123456789/34921/1/Unitl.pdf).

Disparity and development are like two sides of a coin. Disparity in development
creates bottlenecks to further development. The less the disparity, the greater
will be the chances of development; and, the greater the disparity, the less will
be the chances that development takes place. Countries such as the U.S.A.,
Norway, and Sweden have fewer disparities in terms of per capita income, per
capita consumption and the availability of resources for the rich and the poor,
compared to the countries like India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where disparities
are higher between the rich and the poor (Ibid).

8.3.2 Significance of Disparities: Marginalisation of the

Deprived
Rapid and sustained economic growth is a modern phenomenon. This
'phenomenon' made its appearance in the eighteenth century with the advent of
the industrial revolution in England. Broadly, there are three aspects of the process
of modem international growth:
i) -Economic growth has remained confined to small portion of the world
population;
ii) The gap between the developed and underdeveloped countries has increased
116 over the years; and
iii) There is wide spread poverty of disparity among the underdeveloped countries Developm~:ntalD*sparities:
Marginalisation
as well.
Modem economic growth has remained confined to a limited part of the world
and a large number of the third world countries even now find themselves caught
in what economists call 'low level of equilibrium trap'. Though this concrete
fact throws considerable light on existing economic disparities, yet it fails to
prove the hypothesis that international inequalities have increased over time. To
answer the question whether the differentials in per capita income have increased
over the last century or not, one requires estimates of per capita product for most
countries in the world. Such data are available only for some developed countries.
In case of other presently developed countries in the world, such data are available
only for some of these counties. For the remaining developed counties, estimates
of per capita product are available for too short a period. In respect of most
underdeveloped counties data are not at all adequate for making any generalization
for the whole underdeveloped world. They, however, suggest that per capita
income was either constant or recorded only marginal increase. Surendra J. Pate1
who has attempted to analyse increasing economic disparities, clearly points out
the problems one faces in such an exercise due to paucity of data. Conscious of
the limitations of the data he himself feels that his own conclusions are at best
tentative. According to the estimates of Patel, around 1850, the average per capita
income in the presently developed countries was roughly 70 per cent higher than
in the less developed counties which could be characterised as pre-industrial
(Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2007). By 2004, however, the income
disparities between nations had come to such level that the developed countries
had grown to a level of 63 times as high as that of the low income underdeveloped
economies. The problem is perhaps much more serious than what is revealed
from these average levels of per: capita incomes; since in some of the richest
countries the levels are as high as eighty times of those in the poorest countries.
Income disparities measured in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) are also

There is some more evidence to indicate the great disparities that existed between
the developed and underdeveloped nations in 2004. According to data provided
by the World Bank, the developed countries having 15.8 per cent of the world
population had accounted for about 80.0 per cent of the world output in the year
2004. Underdeveloped countries in contrast, had 84.2 per cent of the world
population but their gross output was only about 20.0 per cent of the gross world
output. Whatever information that is available for the recent decades leads us to
the conclusion that economic gaps between the rich and the poor nations have
steadily increased and in the near future there is no hope that they will be reduced.
Thus, the composition of output in developed and underdeveloped countries is
substantially different as brought out by the fact that the relatively backward
third world countries (the so-called low income economies) account for a mere
3.1 per cent of the world's industrial output. This single fact eloquently reveals
the gap that now exists between developed and underdeveloped countries. Further,
in spite of the fact that the primary occupation in underdeveloped countries is
agriculture, their position in terms of agricultural production is not at all very
comfortable. They presently account for about half of the world agricultural
production. This sorry state of affairs is particularly due to the persistence of
outmoded techniques of production in this sector of their economies. In terms of
capital stock and rate of capital accumulation wide disparities exist at the
117
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
2) Briefly explain the concept and significance of disparities.
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8.4.1 Global,,Disparities:Inter-regional and Inter-country Developmentad
Marginalisation
Disparities:

Each country is at a different level of development, thus exist disparities among

the countries. Global disparity describes the disparities that exist between and
among the nations. For example, socio-economic disparity exists at the global
level, and that is why countries are classified into two categories: developed and
underdeveloped. There are countries which are in between these two categories
which are referred to as developing countries. Some counties have been endowed
with abundant resources, while there are countries that are extremely poor in
resources. Resources are of various types: material resources, manpower
resources, natural resources, and financial resources. Differences in the availability
and utilization of these resources, by and large, cause disparity among the
countries, and put them at different levels of development (http:/1
www.egyankosh.ac.in/ bitstream112345678913492 111/ Unit 1.pdf).

Table 8.3 shows the level of global socio-economic disparity that exists between
different categories of countries in terms ofkey parameters such as the per capita
income, life expectancy and adult literacy levels.
Table 8.3: Socio-economic indicators of low, middle and high income categories of
countries
Socio-economic Indicators Reflecting Global Disparity
Category of Gross Domestic Life Expectancy Adult Literacy
countries Product per at birth in years Percentage,
Capita in US $ (2006) 15 years and
(2006) above (2006)
Male Female
i) Low Income 510 56 59 61
ii) Middle income 3764 67 71 83
Lower income 1658 63 67 71
IJpper income 5884 70 75 93
iii) High income 38658 77 83 98

Sources: Human Development Report, UNDP. 2008 and State of the World Children, UNICEF
2008.

It is quite evident from Table 8.3 that the global disparities exist in different
categories or groups in respect of important indicators. If we observe the per
capita income, we find that there is lot of disparity among the various groups
which accounts to $5 10 for low income economies, $3,764 for middle income
economies, $1,658 for lower middle economies, $5,884 for upper middle
economies whereas it was $38,658 in the case of high income economies. The
disparity in the life expectancy at birth in case of both males and females is more
than 20 years between low income economies and high income economies. There
is a marked difference in adult literacy rate which was 6 1 per cent for low income
economies where as it was 98 per cent in the case of high income economies.
Table 8.4 shows the level of global socio-economic disparity that exists between
a group of developed countries and a group of underdeveloped/developing
countries in terms of key parameters such as per capita income, human poverty
index, life expectancy, infant mortality and adult literacy.
119
Development

(UNICEF, 2008). (See http:/lwww.egyankosh.ac.in/ bitstream/l23456789/349211 1AJnitl .pdf).

From Table 8.5 also we can notice the global disparities, which are in respect of
some selected demographic, social and economic indicators.

ENSOWPI0-DemSocialEcon.pdf.
120
Expected pace of global advancement warrants equitable development, which DeveIopment~lDisparities:
M srglnalisation
in turn requires elimination or optimal reduction of disparities among the nations. .
Disparities combine both economic and socio-political aspects and are linked to a-

the lack of resources and institutional weaknesses. In ineqiHlity analysis one

should keep in mind that economic disparity is the mother of all other disparities.
The institutional and management aspects are products of initial economic
disparity, subsequently instigated many-fold by the lack of strong democratic
governance. The remedial measures therefore logically should involve both
economic and governance initiatives simultaneously. Under the current disparity
context, both in the global and the national arenas, good governance initiatives .
should encompass economic aspects and vice versa (Zahurul Alam, 201 1, See
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=190096).

The consequential socio-political and socio-economic disparities foster

marginalisation of population, countries, economies and societies leading to their -.
,

increased vulnerability and insecurity. The resources allocated for improving

their security are misused, resulting in greater vulnerability and insecurity of
those and additional segments of the global population (Ibid).

The global disparities expressed in terms of income inequalities among the

countries coqtinue to show upward slope. The Human Development Report 2005
of UNDP found only 9 countries accounting for 4% of the world's population
with reduced gap; the reverse was true for 80% of the world's population. The
richest 50 individuals in the world had in 2005 a combined income greater than
that of the poorest 416 million. The poorest 40% of the world's population
currently accounts for only 5% of the global income, while the richest 20%
accounts for 75% of it (Ibid)

The 20 10 UNHDR shows that the highest per capita GNI recorded in Lichtenstein
is 460 times greater than that in Zimbabwe. The average per capita GNI in the
Very High Human Development Countries (VHHDC) in 2010 was 27 times
more than that in the Least Developed Countries (LDC). Disparities between the
two groups of countries in adult literacy rate, life expectancy at birth, HDI values
and other related indicators continue to be grossly disproportionate in favour of
the former (Ibid).

Eleven developed countries recorded an average per capita GNI of more than
$40,000 in 2010. The figure is less than $4,000 for 62 developing countries,.
while for 15 of them it is less than $1,000. The average per capita GNI in the
very high human development countries exceeds that in the LDCs by 26.72 times.
Currently, of the 6.3 billion people of the world, almost 1.4 billion earn less than
$1.25 per day, while 3 billion live'on a daily income of less than $2.5 a day.
More than 80% of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day. These are
the people living in the developing countries. On the other hand, in 11 highest
per capita GNI countries per capita daily income ranges between $110 and $222.
The difference is enormous - 100 to 200 times! In India, 42% of the population
earn less than $1.25 per day, while in Bangladesh the figure is more than 51
million (32% of the population). In Tanzania, Liberia and Burundi, 88.5, 83.7
and 8 1.3% of the people earntm than $1.25 per day (Ibid). -- -

111-effects of colonialism and subsequent lack of good governance in the

developing countries have contributed to reduced capacity, participation and
Dynamicsof Extension and opportunities of the people to utilise available resources in a manner that would
Development
ensure required pace of development. Emergence of authoritarian regimes
following the retreat of direct colonialism has prevented people's participation
in the decision-making and development process, which has prompted widespread
corruption and accumulation of resources in the hands of small sections of the
privileged power capturers. Lion's share of the national wealth thus remaintd
unutilised or under-utilised, leading to increased income inequality in countries
where 80% of the world's population lives. Income disparity has increased
poverty, harmed democratic governance and human rights, and has prompted
internal conflicts and socio-economic and political disorder in most developing
countries, leaving those vulnerable to political, social and environmental
impediments (Ibid).

Global priorities in spending show, at a glance, the existing disparities between

the rich and the poor and the developed and developing economies. At the end of
the last century, spending in cosmetics in the US amounted to $8 billion, compared
to $6 billion in basic education in the developing countries. The Europeans spent
$166 billion for buying ice-cream, cigarettes and alcoholic drinks against $9
billion by the people of the developing countries for water and sanitation for all.
In the US and Europe spending in perfumes and pet foods amounted in 1998 to
$29 billion compared to $12 billion in the developing countries in reproductive
health for all women. Businessmen in Japan alone invested $35 billion for
business entertainment (Ibid).
In developed countries, the world military spending and that in narcotics drugs
amounted to $400 billion and $780 billion respectively, while the developing
countries could spend only $13 billion on basic health and nutrition. While
reduction of the world's military expenditure alone by only 1% could ensure
primary education to all children in all countries, the lack of intention to do that
by the respective countries and regimes, invariably by the developed countries,
has compelled nearly one-sixth of the world's population to remain illiterate.
This has created a huge unskilled labour market in the developing countries,
leading to their economic stagnation and socio-political backwardness (Ibid).
The disparity is not only between nations. Distressing inequality prevails between
the rich and the poor within the majority of the countries. In countries where
more than 90% of the people earn less than $2 a day, there are evidences of
enormous concentration of wealth in the hands of a very limited number of affluent
people and families. In Brazil and South Africa, more than 64% of the national
wealth is concentrated in the hands of 20% of the population. In some of the
poorest countries, such as Kenya, Senegal and Madagascar, where 22.8%, 17%
and 49. I%, respectively of the population earn less than a dollar per day, the
richest 20% controls over 50% of the national wealth (Ibid).
The current trade regime and globalisation have not impacted positively on the
developing economies. Developing countries continue to experience economic
hardship and social disadvantages. During the '90s, 54 developing countries
experienced negative growth rates. The situation remained unchanged or even
became worse despite imposition of more and more tools in international relations.
At the end of the last century, the developing countries accounted for less than
22% of the global GDP, although 85% of the world's population lived in those
countries. The success stories in some countries remain as isolated incidents that
do not reflect the general trend (Ibid).
8.4.2 Disparities in India Developmenta1 Disparities:
Marginalisation
In this sub-section, we focus our discussion on the disparities in India.

8.4.2.1 Inter-state Disparities

Like disparities between and among the countries, there exist disparities between
and among tthe states within a country and more so in any developing country.
Here, we will examine some inter-state disparities in India.

Table 8.6 presents data on 14 States/UTswith seven of them having the percentage
of people living below the poverty line which is below that of the national average
and StatesLJTs having it above that of the national average. The first seven States/
UTs have poverty figure of less than 15 per cent and seven other States/UTs with
their poverty figures of more than 30 per cent. The table reflects the wide inter-
state disparity in poverty ratios.
Table 8.6: Inter-state Disparity in terms of Percentage of People Living below the

Further, from Table 8.7 we can notice vivid inter-state disparities even in terms
of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of different States in India in 2004-
05. It indicates wide difference in per capita income of various States and Union
Territories. Among them, Bihar has the lowest per capita income of Rs.7,486
Dynamics of Extension and whereas it is highest (Rs.80,392) in the case of Goa, followed by Maharashtra
Development
(Rs.37,235), Himachal Pradesh (Rs.36,785), Punjab (Rs.36,376) and Haryana
(Rs.35,893).
Table 8.7: Per Capita GSDP of States
state Per Capita GSDP 2004-05
(in Rupees)
Non-Special Category
Andhra Pradesh 26655
Bihar 7486
Chhattisgarh 20336
Goa 80392
Gujarat 34223
Haryana 35893
Jharkhand 19908
Karnataka 28774
Kerala 328 18
Madhya Pradesh 16597
Maharashtra 37235
Orissa 18440

Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Special Category States
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir

Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland

- Sikkirn
Triupura
Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand)
1thll 1-v 111 1th-voll .pdf.
Source: http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/pa~eve/
-
Table 8.8: Inter-state Disparity in terms of Percentage of Literates (Census 2001) DevelopmentalIDispadties:
Ma rginalisation
SI.No. StateNT Percentage of literates

I. StateIUT with Literacy Percentage above all India Literacy Rate

1. New Delhi 8 1.67

82.0 1

90.86

86.66

88.80

6. Puducherry 81.24

All India 64.84

11. State with Literacy Percentage below all India Literacy Rate

7. Arunachal Pradesh 54.34

47.00

Jammu & Kashmir 55.52

10. Jharkhand 53.56

11. Rajasthan * 60.41

12. Uttar Pradesh

Source: Government of India. 2008. Economic Survey 2007-08. New Delhi: Ministry of Finance.

Table 8.8 presents data on the literacy rates for 12 states, showing disparities
among them - six states with their literacy rates above the national average
literacy rate and six states having their literacy rates below the national average
literacy rate. It shows that there is acute inter-state disparity in terms of literacy
rates, with the first group of six states having literacy rate above national average
of 64.84 per cent (ranging from 81.2 per cent to 90.9 per cent) compared to the
second group of six states having the literacy rates (ranging from 47.0 per cent to
60.4 per cent), which are below the national average. Such disparities existed in
previous censuses as well, but with some changes in the positions of StatesIUTs
constituting such groups above and below the national average.

In order to reduce such disparities the Government of India laid special emphasis '
on particular group of states having low literacy rates for empowered action
to improve the situation. The comparative position of these states in terms of
their literacy rates in 200 1 and 20 1 1 and the relevant disparities is given in
Table 8.9.
125
D~namicsofExtensionand Table 8.9: Effective Literacy Trends in Eight Empowered Action Group
Development (EAG) States (2001-2011)
Rank Indialstatel No. of Literates No. of Literates and Absolute Percentage
Union and Literacy Rate Literacy Rate in increase in increase in the
Territories in 2011 2001 the No. of number of
Literates literates and
2001-2011 Literacy Rate
(2001-2011)
Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
INDIA 77,84,54,120 74.04 56,07,53,179 64.83 21,77,00,941 38.82 9.2
1. Bihar 5,43,90,254 63.82 3,11,09,577 47.00 2,32,80,677 74.8 16.82
2. Jharkhand 1,87,53,660 67.63 1,17,77,201 53.56 69,76,459 59.24 14.07
3. Uttar 11,84,23,805 69.72 7,57,19,284 56.27 4,27,04,521 56.40 13.45
Pradesh
4. Rajasthan 3,89,70,500 67.06 2,77,02,010 60.41 1,12,68,490 40.68 6.65
5. Chhattisgarh 1,55,98,314 71.04 1,11,73,149 64.66 44,25,165 39.6 6.38
6, Madhya 4,38,27,193 70.63 3,15,92,563 63.74 1,22,34,630 38.73 6.89
Pradesh
7. Uttarakhand 69.97,433 79.63 5 1,05,782 71.62 18,91,651 37.05 8.01
8. Orissa 2,71,12,376 73.45 1,98,37,055 63.08 72,75,321 36.68 10.37
Source: http://www.educationforallinindia.codchapter6-state-of-literacy-2Oll -census.pdf.
The other States and Union Territories showing substantial percentage increase
in number of literates are Dadra and Nagar Haveli (119.46), Daman & Diu (75.63
per cent) Arunachal Pradesh (62.95 per cent), Meghalaya (56.99 per cent) and
Jammu & Kashmir (50.71 per cent) (http://www.educationforallinindia.com/
chapter6-state-of-literacy-2011-census.pdf).
Inter-State Variations: One important feature of the growth experienced in the
Eleventh Plan; which is relevant for inclusiveness is that high rates of economic
growth have been more broadly shared than ever before across the States. While
most States have shown sustained high rates of growth, several of the
economically weaker States have also demonstrated an improvement in their
growth rates. Amongst them are: Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. According to available data,
no State has average GSDP growth of less than 6 per cent during the Eleventh
Plan period. While the economically weaker states are catching up in growth
rates, there is growing concern about the backwardness of individual districts,
several of them located in States that are otherwise doing well. Many of these
districts are also affected by Left-wing Extremism. The Backward Regions Grant
Fund and various other regional initiatives have been specially designed to address
this problem ( h t t p : / / i n d i a m i c r o f i n a n c e . c o r n / w p - c o n t e n t -
Plan-India-draft-approach.pdf).
8.4.2.2 Rural-Urban Disparities
Rural-urban disparity has been prevalent in India for ages. Rural areas are
considered to be backward areas in terms of availability of basic infrastructure
-roads, electricity, water and sanitation facilities, schools and hospitals, etc. In
contrast, urban areas are in better position in terms of such facilities. It is because
of inadequacy and poor quality of such facilities in rural areas they lag behind
126 urban areas.
In addition, the basic indicators of development such as the level of poverty, Marginalisation
DevelopmentalDisparities:

illiteracy, unemployment, etc also show us glaring disparities between rural and
urban areas. Table 8.10 throws light on some obvious rural-urban disparities in

Table 8.10: Rural-Urban Disparities based on Selected Socio-Economic Indicators

S1.No. Indicators Rural Area Urban Area
1. Percentage of People below the poverty line 28.3 25.3
2. Percentage of literates 53.0 74.0
3. Percentage of regular wage-employers 7.0 41.0
4. Average earnings per day in Rs. 48.63 62.64
5. Percentage of Self-employed 59.5 43.0
6. Unemployment rates* (Usual status**) 23.0 53.0
Note:* No. of persons (or person days) unemployed per 1000 persons (or person days)
** Usual status means unemployed on an average in the reference year.
Source: Planning Commission, Government of I n d ~ a .See http://www.planning
comrmssion.nic.in.
National Sample Survey Organization, 60thRound (2004-05).
National Sample Survey Organization, 61stRound (2005-06).
Table 8.10 shows that both poverty and illiteracy are higher in rural areas compared
to urban areas. The percentage of regular wage employers is also low in rural
areas vis-a-vis the urban areas. There is marked difference in terms of the average
earnings per day in rural areas as compared to urban areas. It is for this reason
that more people in rural areas are self-employed (59.5 per cent in rural areas
compared to 43 per cent in urban areas). The higher degree of self-employment
also results in low unemployment rates in rural areas (23.0 per cent) compared
to those in urban areas (53.0 per cent).
Table 8.11 presents the situation of slums in million plus population cities in
India, a situation which is in contrast to rural areas in many respects.
8.11: Total and Slum Population of Million Plus Cities in India - Census 2001
Million Plus Total Popn. Slum Popn. % of Slum Sex Ratio in Sex Ratio in
Popu. cities (in '000) (in '000) to Non-Slum Slum areas
Total Popn. areas
Greater 11,978 6,475 54.06 859 770
Mumbai
Delhi M.Corp. 9,879 1,851 18.74 836 780
- Kolkata 4,573 1,485 32.48 84 1 805
Banglore * 4,30 1 43 1 10.02 915 947
Chennai * 4,344 820 18.88 953 974
Ahmedabad 3,637 474 13.46 89 1 850
Hyderabad * 3,520 627 17.23 930 938
Kanpur 2,55 1 368 14.42 857 857
Pune 2,538 492 19.39 920 928
Surat 2,433 508 20.89 794 70 1
All India 73,346 17,697 24.13 874 820
* Million Cities of South India
Source: http://www.indiaonlinepagescom/population/slum-population-in-india.htm1. 127
Dynamics O'
Development
a"d 8.4.2.3 Inter-religious Disparities
Inter-religious disparities are age-old phenomena. Censuses were conducted in
parts of India in the ancient times with examples such
as Kautilya's Arthashastra which describes the collection of population
statistics for taxation in 4th century B. C. The British census in 1865- 1872 was
the first conducted in modern times in India. The 2001 census figures released
by the Indian Census Commission give a breakdown by various parameters
including religion (http:lketv.org/indialindex.html).
Table 8.12: Demographic and Socio-economic Disparities in India in 2005:
Religion-wise
Religion
Parameter Hindus Muslims Christians Sikhs Buddhists Jains Others
80.5 13.4
population 2005
10-Yr Growth 20.3 29.5 22.6 18.2 24.5 26 103.1
% (est '91-'01)
Sex ratio* 935 940 1009 895 955 940 100
(avg. 944)
Literacy rate 75.5 60.0 90.3 70.4 73.0 95.0 50.0
(avg. 79.9)
Work 40.4 31.3 39.7 37.7 40.6 32.9 48.4
Participation
Rate
Rural sex ratio ; 944 953 1001 895 958 937 995
Urban sex ratio 922 907 1026 886 944 941 966
Child sex ratio 925 950 964 786 942 870 976
(0-6 yrs) -
Notes: 1 . All figures in %.
2. Gender Ratio*: no of females/1000 males.
3. Others including Bahh'is, Jews, and Parsis.
4. TribalAnimists (and non-religious) are grouped under Others after 1926 (193 1 Census onwards).

Source: The First Report on Religion: Census of India 2001

8 . The data excludes Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul sub-divisions o f Senapati
District of Manipur.
%.
The data is "unadjusted" (without excluding Assam and Jammu and Kashrnir); 1981 census
was not conducted in Assam and 1991 census was not conducted in Jarnmu and Kashmir. (See
http://hetv.org/india/index.html).

It may also be noted specially that about 40% of the Hindus speak Hindi while
the rest speak Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada and other
languages. Almost 70% of the Muslims speak Urdu while the rest speak Kashrniri,
Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati and other languages. About one-third of
the Christians speak Malayalam, one-sixth speak Tamil while the rest speak a
variety of languages.

128 >
 Developmenltal Disparities:
Check Your Progress M[argfnallsation
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
3) What are the broad types of disparity?
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4) Describe in brief the global disparities.
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8.5 CAUSES OF DISPARITY

In this section, we will discuss the causes of various types of disparities.
The root causes of disparities can be broadly discussed under the following
sub-sections.

8.5.1 Failures of Economic Growth

Failures of economic growth can be attributed to the inability of many countries
to reduce inequalities in income distribution which finally results in poverty,
hunger, etc. For example, during 1990s growth in annual per capita income in
the East Asia and the Pacific region was 6.4 per cent and this region recorded a
D~namicsofExtensionand 14.9 per cent reduction in poverty. South Asia recorded an annual per capita
Development
income growth of 3.3 per cent and this was accompanied by 8.4 per cent reduction
in poverty. On the other hand, the regions of Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) faced a decline of 1.9per cent annum
in per capita income and this was accompanied by a 13.5 per cent increase in
poverty in the 1990s. In sub-Saharan Africa, per capita income fell by 0.4 per
cent per annum in 1990s and this was accompanied by a 1.6 per cent increase in
poverty. According to Human Development Report, 2003 (Planning Commission,
2007), at constant inequality levels, a country needs to grow by 3 per cent or
more a year to double incomes in a generation - say, from $1 to $2. Yet, out of
155 countries only 30 countries had annual per capita income growth rates of
about 3 per cent in the 1990s.Among the rest, 54 countries saw average income
fall, and in 71 countries annual income growth was less than 3 per cent. As a
result of this dismal growth performance, more than 1.2 billion people are
presently struggling to survive on less than $1 a day.

8.5.2 Inequalities in Land Ownership

Land is critical for rural people and for the three-quarter of the world's poor who
depend on agriculture for their income or livelihood. About a quarter of the rural
people in developing countries are landless or do not have adequate security of
tenure or title. Inequalities in land ownership across regions and countries galore.
For instance, in Latin America, 1.3 per cent of the large landowners hold 7 1.6
per cent of the entire area of land under cultivation. In India, top 10 per cent of
the rural households possess 56.23 per cent of the agricultural land while the
bottom 70 per cent owns only 13.83 per cent land. This concentrated ownership
of land is the major cause of poverty and income inequalities in the rural sector.
The economic power which the large land owners enjoy has helped them in
gaining political ascendancy and they have been successful in diverting the
benefits of all rural development efforts initiated by the governments in their
favour. Thus, while they have prospered, the rural poor languished. In fact, as
noted by the World Development Report, the landless are among the poorest in
developing countries (Government of India, 2007).

8.5.3 Private Ownership of Industries, Trade and Buildings

Most of the developing countries are mixed capitalist economies which permit
private ownership of industries, trade and buildings. Hence, a microscopic
minority has acquired control over vast assets. Industries and business houses
easily obtain capital from bank and other financial institutions, besides equity
capital which they raise from the market. This is the reason why even in the
period of recession their assets continue to increase. Control measures initiated
by the governments (like the licensing policy and physical controls) are not only
defective but also little attention is paid to their proper implementation. Traders,
transporters and urban property owners are the other classes which have taken
full benefit of the limited growth that has taken place in these economies. Most
of these persons are men of average intelligence, and yet their incomes are very
high because they have control over the means of production. In contrast, many
intelligent and enterprising persons never get any opportunity in their lifetime
and hence live on moderate earnings merely because their only asset is their
labour power. Workers employed in the unorganized sectors and the unemployed
persons belonging to the lower strata of the society generally constitute the class
of the poor in the urban areas.
130
 Developmental Disparities:
8.5.4 Inequalities in Professional Training k[arginallsation
Incomes of business executives, engineers, physicians, lawyers and other
professionals are often high and from this fact the false understanding that income
inequalities arise from professional competence or lack of it. On superficial
consideration, this may look convincing, but the truth is otherwise. In a class
society as it prevails in most of the developing countries, training required for
professional competence is not available to all. Only children belonging to elite
families have access to higher and professional education. Sons and daughters
of agricultural labourers, industrial workers and socially handicapped groups
like tribals and Harijans cannot hope to get this education.

8.5.5 Rapid Price Rise and Adverse Terms of Trade

Changes in relative prices and terms of trade affect poverty levels and income
inequalities strongly. This phenomenon can be expressed in terms of the
entitlements approach of A. K. Sen. Extremes of poverty or famine of many do
depend not only on low income levels, but also of their vulnerable position in
entitlement system: "the entitlement failures may be due to declines in ownership
(for example cattle dying), declines in exchange entitlement, that is the terms at
which someone can exchange his commodity bundle for the one he wishes to
'
acquire (for example, food). To understand famines one should therefore
concentrate on entitlementsrather than aggregate food availability" (Government
of India, 2007a). The Bengal famine of 1943, for instance, was caused not just
by aggregate food shortage but was also due to war-time inflation with rapid
increase in prices. Due to this inflation, the purchasing power of landless workers
was eroded by almost two-thirds in a very short span of time. Sen also cites the
example of 1972 famine in Ethiopia, where many farmers faced crop failures
and cattle death. To be able to buy food they tried to sell parts of their assets like
land and cattle. However, since many of them tried to do this at the same time,
the prices of the assets fell drastically.Therefore,the ability of farmers to purchase
food was very adversely affected. Even today, inflation affects the income of the
poor adversely as their real purchasing power declines considerably while money
wages increase at a snails's pace or do natincrease at all. On the other hand, big
industrialists, traders and large farmers (who contribute a major chunk of the
marketed surplus of food grains) benefit a great deal from inflation as their
incomes increase continuously.As a result, income inequalities between the rich
and the poor classes widen considerably. Most of the developing countries are
experiencing this phenomenon as heavy doses of deficit financing resorted to by
them have created severe inflationary pressures in their economies.

8.5.6 Poor Availability of Credit Facilities

In developing countries, operations of the price system further accentuate the
already existing inequalities which arose from unequal distribution of wealth .
and income. Persons having access to the formal capital markets are able to
obtain finance on very favourable terms, whereas persons relying on the informal
market have to pay a heavy price for credit. For instance, while medium and
large farmers easily obtain loans from banks and cooperatives on account of
their creditworthiness, the vast mass of agricultural labourers, and small and
marginal farmers continue to depend heavily on the village money-lenders who
charge an exorbitant rate of interest and also exploit the poor people in a number
of ways. As noted by the Human Development Report 1997, credit and savings
131
Dynamicsof Extension and help families through crisis - drought, recession, illness - without having to
Development
resort to measures such as selling off their assets or taking children out of school.
However, only 2-5 per cent of the 500 million poorest households in the world
have access to institutional credit.

8.5.7 Urban Bias in Private Investment

While 70 to 80 per cent of the population of the developing countries lives in
rural areas, about 80 per cent of private investment goes to industries in urban
areas. Therefore, there is a distinct 'urban bias' in favour of urban areas in the
private investment. This urban bias takes the form of highly mechanised projects
in which the share of wages in value addition is relatively low (Banerjee and
Marjit, 2005). Therefore, as noted by Keith Griffin, "the rate of employment
creation in the capital-intensive sector is slow, sometimes not even as fast as the
rate of growth of the labour force" (UNICEF, 2009).

8.5.8 Role of the Government

Though the state is often proclaimed as a 'precursor' and 'initiator' of economic
change in the developing counties, the fact is that the state investment essentiallx
plays a supportive role in private investment (especially the large and capital-
intensive enterprises). This is due to the fact that the state depends for its support * 1 .
on the same social forces which own the wealth of the country and supply the
technicians, administrators and the dominant political groups. In such an
environment, the governments merely guard the status quo and adopts policies
which, on balance, are designed to perpetuate the hegemony of the propertied
classes and those allied to them. Even the public housing helps the relatively
better of people more than they help the wretched poor belonging to the lowest
income groups.

8.5.9 Conflicts and Displaced Persons

Civil wars, guerilla wars, separatist movements and ethnic violence in many
developing countries have displaced a number of people from their homes and
have also led to many barbaric crimes and deaths of innocent people. In 1995
there were 46 million displaced people - one in every 120 people in the world -
who had been forced to flee from home. Of these 46 million displaced persons,
as many as 40 million were in developing countries. As noted by HDR 1997,
conflict in poor countries block or handicap poverty eradication efforts. Quite
apart from the direct impact of widespread destruction, conflicts divert important
resources from development.

In addition to those affected by warfare, many poor people fall victim to the
supposedly "peaceful" alternatives- economic sanctions. However, it is generally
found that while the politically connected and wealthy people are able to avoid
much of the impact of such economic sanctions, it is the poor people who suffer
most. HDR 1997 gives the examples of Haiti and Iraq in this context. In Haiti,
during sanctions, drinking water supplies were cut by half. The price of staple
foods increased five-fold and the proportion of malnourished children rose frbm
5 per cent to 23 per cent. In Iraq, under sanctions, life expectancy fell from 65
years in 1990 to 57 years in 1994.
132
 Developmenl a1 Disparities:
Check Your Progress M arginalisation

Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
5) List out the causes of disparities.
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8.6 STRATEGYAND MEASURES TO OVERCOME

' DISPARITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Having studied the concept, types and causes of disparities, we need to look at
the measures of overcoming or reducing these disparities.

8.6.1 Strategy for Attacking Poverty in Developing Countries

World Development Report 20001200 1 (UNICEF, 2009) proposed a strategy for
attacking poverty in three ways:
i) Promoting opportunity;
ii) Facilitating empowerment; and
iii) - Enhancing security. '

Promoting opportunity implies steps to increase jobs, credit, roads, electricity,

schools, water sanitation and health services. Facilitating empowerment requires
creation of sound and responsive institutions for the benefit of the poor. Enhancing
security implies reducing vulnerability to economic shocks, natural disasters,
ill-health, disability and personal violence. This is an intrinsic part of enhancing
well-being and encouraging investment in human capital and in higher-risk and
higher-return activities.
133
'ynamiCs
Development
and 8.6.2 Measures to Reduce Inequalities/Disparities in Developing
Countries
The important measures to implement the above strategy and reduce poverty
and income inequalities in the developing countries are as follows (World
Development Report 20001200 1 mentioned in UNICEF, 2009).
8.6.2.1 Rising Productivity of Small-scale Agriculture
Around 70 to 80 per cent of poor people in most developing countries depend on
agriculture for their livelihoods, either as small-holders or as labourers. Growth
in small-holder agricultural productivity was a major factor in poverty reduction
in China in 1975-85, in Indonesia and Malaysia in 1970-80 and in Japan, the
Republic of Korea and Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s. This shows that policies
to raise the productivity of small-scale agriculture in developing countries can
play an instrumental role in alleviating poverty and in reducing income
inequalities. Efforts can be made in this direction by providing improved
technologies to the farmers, supported adequately by public programmes to make
available agricultural inputs at cheaper rates, better social services, improved
infrastructural facilities and agricultural research. As noted by the Human
Development Report 1997, improving the productivity of small-scale agriculture
does more benefit to the farmers. It also creates employment on-the-farm and off
and reduces food prices. The poor benefit most because around 70 per cent of
their consumption is food, mostly staples; and regular supplies and stable prices
create food security for them.
8.6.2.2 Land Reforms and Redistribution of Land
As noted earlier, the basic cause of income inequalities in the rural sector of the
developing countries is the extreme inequalities in land ownership. Since a
majority of the population lives in rural areas, we can regard inequalities in land
ownership as the basic cause of income inequalities in the developing countries.
Therefore, extensive land reforms and land redistribution measures can help in
reducing income inequalities significantly. This view has been corroborated by
some studies as well.
8.6.2.3 Programmes for Increasing Employment Opportunities
The measures adopted for increasing employment opportunities in the developing
countries fall under two broad categories:
i) Measures for general employment, and
ii) Measures for specific employment to the trained and skilled personnel.
In the former category, the measures generally include a variety of measures to
increase wage employment. In order to increase wage employment, the
governments act on two fronts - to raise the volume of investment, and to
improve investment-income ratio as far as possible. In the second category, the
measures include those aimed at providing assistance for self-employment.These
include provision of training to those who wish to set up their own small-scale
industries or businesses; provision of financial assistance on easy terms to such
persons and supply of raw material at subsidized rates; provision of marketing
facilities, etc. As is clear, both types of measures are meant to eliminate
unemployment mainly in urban areas. Further, to encourage rural employment
in particular, the governments provide credit, marketing facilities and agricultural
134 inputs to the farmers for this purpose. Anumber of large overpopulated countries
in fact face the problem of disguised unemployment. The governments of these Developmental Disparities:
Marginalisation
countries have introduced large-scale programmes of industrialization with the
hope that they would enable the surplus labour in agriculture to move to the
industrial sector.
8.6.2.4 Strengthening and Enhancing Production of Small-scale and
Informal Sectors
The developing countries should recognize the valuable contributions of the
informal sector to employment and take actions that encourage it to expand. In
this approach, improving the productivity and working conditions of small-scale
producers and microenterprises will be the key. According to the Human
Development Report, 1996 (mentioned in Human Development Report. 2003):
"intervention must build on the entrepreneurial vitality of the informal sector to
ensure quick results in improving living conditions and employment opportunities.
Such interventions should create an enabling environment for informal sector
growth through deregulation, assistance to microenterprises and access to raw
materials, markets and technology". Ensuring availability of institutional credit
at low cost is also necessary as such credit is a critical factor in the success of the
small-scale and informal sectors.

8.6.2.5 Emphasising Labour-intensive Industrialisation

Growth strategies on labour-intensive activities such as textiles, clothing,
electronics and intensifying small-scale agriculture will enable the developing
nations to achieve high growth, full-employment and rising wages. It means
emphasizing labour-intensive industrialization is the key to expanding
employment opportunities in developing countries.

8.6.2.6 Programmes for Upliftment of the Rural Poor

As a result of the conviction that indirect measures can be effective only marginally
in eradicating poverty and reducing income inequalities in the rural sector, many
developing countries have attempted a direct assault on poverty. For instance,
for the purpose of uplifting the rural poor the Government of India has introduced
a number of programmes aimed at creating employment opportunities and helping
them. Some of them include: Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA),
Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers Development Agency (MFAL),
the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless
Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), the Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), Swarna Jayanthi Shahari
Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, etc.

8.6.2.7 Progressive Tax Policy

The governments of the developing countries can use tax policy to reduce income
inequalities. For instance, a high element of progressivity in the direct taxes can
be introduced with the object of taxing the richer sections at a much higher rate
than the poorer sections. Two suggestions made in the World Development Report,
2006 for raising tax revenues in developing countries are noteworthy: i) levying
of more property taxes as they account for only a small share of taxes in these
countries; and ii) levying of inheritance taxes. Justifying the later, the Report
says that predetermined circumstances should not affect a person's life chances
(heirs have not earned the wealth they have inherited) (World Bank, 2006).
Dynamics Of Extension and 8.6.2:8 Sustained Investmefit in People to Enhance Human Capabilities
Development
High-employment economies have generally invested in the development of
human capabilities particularly education, health and skills. They have also
constantly upgraded technical skills to enable workers to adopt to rapidly changing
international conditions. However, this requires not only formal education but
also' skill-training targeted at productivity increase, training workers at the
workplace so that they can master the ever-changing technology and continuously
enhancing their creative abilities and productivity, and substantially raising
expenditure on Research and Development (R & D). Better health and nutrition
also contributes to reducing poverty and enhancing productivity. Governments
in developing countries are aware of this and many of them are trying to provide
health facilities to the poor and to improve their nutritional status.

8.6.2.9 Subsidising Goods and Services

Public Distribution System can be used as an instrument for effecting
redistribution of income if-itis used to supply essential commodities to the poorer
sections only at lower prices while the rest of the population is left to buy them
in the open market. This would indeed be a 'partial' distribution system but is
advisable on account of the following reasons:

i) It imposes less administrative strains on the already over-burdened

bureaucratic system,
ii) It serves the purpose of redistributing income in favour of the poor since its
benefits occrue exclusively to them, and
iii) It ensures production incentives to the farmers because only a part of the
marketable surplus is procured at lower prices for the public distribution
system while the rest of the produce can be sold by the farmers at the market
prices set by the high purchasing power of the comparatively richer sections
of the population. This would prevent the diversion of resources away from
the production of essential commodities under consideration.

8.6.2.10 Providing Infrastructure

World Development Report 2006 (World Bank, 2005) quotes a study by Leipziger
and others (2003), based on a sample of 73 countries which found that 10 per
cent improvement in a country's infrastructure index is associated with 5 per
cent reduction in child mortality, a 3.5 per cent reduction in infant mortality and
a 7.8 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. Improving rural transport
infrastructure can reduce transaction costs, expand access to markets and improve
rural incomes. Investments in basic water and energy infrastructure can improve
gender equity. This is due to the reason that around the world, the burden of
gathering and transporting fuel wood and water traditionally falls on women and
girls.

8.6.2.11 Social Security System

All the measures discussed so far cannot benefit the aged and the infirm in
developing countries whose number is constantly increasing. This is partly due
to increasing life expectancy in the developing countries and partly due to the
weakening of traditional family and community-based social security
arrangements (for instance, the break-up ofjoint family system in India). In most
136
 of the developed countries, coverage of the social security system for such people Developmental DlspaWes:
Mal-ginallsation
is almost universal. Benefits are provided to the elderly people, the disabled
people, the surviving spouses and the children through the system of social
insurance (such as pension) and social assistance (for instance, health facilities).
Therefore, policy measures are urgently called for to cover these people. It is
necessary to provide preventive and basic health care to all the elderly and the
infirm poor and this could be supplemented by cash or in kind transfer when
necessary.

8.6.2.12 People's Participation in Development

t
f It is very important that people's participation is ensured at all stages of
development, and at all levels - from the top to the grassroots level. When
people are participating in the development process, it is in their interest to ensure
that all sections of the society benefit equally from the process. If only a small
section of the population benefits from the development process, it means that
over a period of time disparity would crop up. In villages, where discrimination
on the basis of caste, class and gender is extremely pronounced, the Panchayat
Raj system can play a major role through people's involvement in the development
process.

8.6.2.13 Promoting Accountability

It is also important to ensure that people are made accountable for the non-
functioning, mal-.functioning of the systems within the government. This can be
done if people are involved at every stage of development, right from the stage
of planning a programme, to its execution, monitoring and evaluation. It is
important for the people to realise that the programmes are meant for people and
that they need to involve in their execution and monitoring. The concept of
ownership of a programme or a scheme should vest with the people, and only
then wouid'they feel concerned and accountable. If a road, for example, is in a
bad shape, making life difficult for commuters, it is the people, the road users
themselves, who need to be accountable. That is why we have good roads and
bad roads in the same city, causing disparity in the availability of services. Good
roads are for those road users who are willing to take the onus of accountability
and bad roads are for those road users who are not willing to be accountable.
Check Your Progress
e
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
6 ) What are the three strategic ways of attacking poverty?
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Dynamics of Extension and
Development 7) What are the important measures for reducing inequalitiesldisparitiesin
developing countries?
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8.7 MEASURES UNDERTAKEN FOR REDUCING

DISPARITIES IN INDIA
Since independence Government of India has taken several measures to reduce
disparities in many respects. Mainly, they are for reduction of inter-state, rural-
urban, inter-caste and gender disparities. We discuss them, in brief, below.

8.7.1 Measures to Overcome Inter-state Disparity

Some of the measures undertaken for reduction of the inter-state disparities are
as follows.

Programmes for the development of backward areas: Programmes targeting

disadvantaged areas, comprising the states ofArunacha1Pradesh, Bihar, Hirnachal
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim,
Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, etc., were mainly initiated during the fourth Five Year
Plan (1969-74) with a view to counter rising inter-state disparity in development.
With the exception of the hill area development programme, identified towards
the latter half of the third five year plan, most of the other such programmes
were identified during the fourth Plan. The Indo-China war in 1962 made our
planners and policy makers sensitive to the development of hill areas in North
and North-Eastern India with an eye on national security (http:l/
www.egyankosh.ac.in/ bitstread12345678913492 1/1/Unit1.pdf).

Industrially backward areas in the country were identified in 1969. Areas

characterised as 'structurally impoverished', such as drought-prone areas were
identified in 1972. Areas dominantly inhabited by the socially backward tribal
communities were identified in 1974 for the Tribal Sub-Plan projects (Ibid).
 Table 8.13: Chronology of the Backward Areas Development Programme Developmenta~lDisparities:
Marginalisation
Plan Name of the Programme Year of
Starting
Fourth Plan (1969-74) Industrially backward areas 1970
North-East 1972
Drought-ProneAreas 1973
Fifth Plan (1974-79) Tribal Areas 1974
Hill Area Development including the 1974
Western Ghats
Desert Development 1977
Seventh Plan (1985-90) Border Area Development 1987
Tenth Plan (2002-07) Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana 2002-03
Eleventh Plan (2007-12) Backward Region Grant Fund 2005-06
Source: http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/l23456789/3492
1/1/Unitl.pdf.

The Planning Commission of India implements the area programmes such as the
Hill Area Development Programme, including the Western Ghats, the Border
Area Development, the North-East and the Desert Development Progranmes.
Tribal Development Programme is with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The
Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) is the responsibility of the Ministry of
Rural Development. The Desert Development Programme is now the dual
responsibility of the Planning Commission and Ministry of Rural Development.
The Ministry of Industry is assigned the responsibility of the Industrially Backward
Area Development Programme. Schemes proposed for an Annual Plan of 11th
Plan included the following (http:Nwww.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/
34921/1/Unitl .pdf).

i) Accelerated Development of Western Ghats: The Western Ghats

Developinent Programme (WGDP) targeting the states of Karnataka, Kerala,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu has got two key components,namely, improving
natural resources management and improving the access to tribal hamlets
through footbridges. The management of natural resources will be carried
out in a participatory mode with the involvement of Village Panchayats and
NGOs with appropriate support from Research & Development institutions.
The main focus of the WGDP has-been the integrated development of
watersheds keeping in view the overriding priorities of eco-restoration and
eco-preservation. In addition to the projects on natural resource management,
the schemes for livelihood support system and productive system
management are also included.

ii) Special Area Development: The objective of the scheme of special area
development, comprising the states of Jammu & Kashrnir, Himachal Pradesh,
Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, fripura, Arunachal Pradesh ind .
- %'
Mizoram, is to develop the coastal regions of the country in an integrated '

manner. Inorder to prepare an action plan for the coastal areas, it is necessary
to bring the resources and services of the departments like fisheries, harbor,
engineering, ports, health, education, and civil society organisations as well .
Dynamics of Extension and as of local governments together, so that convergence happens. The projects
Development
will be implemented with the support of local governments, Government of
India, National Coastal Development Centre, financial institutions and state
governments.
iii) Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF): The Backward Region Grant Fund
is a new initiative of the Government of India. It primarily covers the states
ofAssarn, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The scheme
was launched by the Planning Commission in 2005-06 by merging it with
the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana, which wis initiated in 2002-03 in Mizoram.
The scheme is monitored by the state level steering committee chaired by
the Vice-Chairman, State Planning Board and at the district level, the District
Collectors are coordinating the project.
Programmes for development of the North-Eastern Region: In order to
implement programmes for development of the North Eastern region, and
to reduce inter-state disparity, a Ministry of Development of North-Eastem
Region (DONER) was set up in September 200 1, to act as the nodal
department of the Central Government to deal with matters pertaining to the
socio-economic development of the eight States of North-East, i.e. Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and
Sikkim.

8.7.2 Measures to Overcome Rural-Urban Disparity

Some of the important measures undertaken by India which are aimed at reducing
rural-urban disparities include the following.
Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and allied programmes.
Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY).
The Swamjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY).
Sampurna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY).
National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP)/Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MNREGS).
Some other importantprogrammes: In addition to the above programmes, there
are many programmes that aim at reducing the disparities. All the central
Government sponsored programmes for nual development are of four types:

i) Wage employment programmes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY),

Employment Guarentee Scheme (EGS), Employment Assurance Scheme
(EAS).

ii) Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWACRA), Training

of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM), Nehru Rozgar Yojana,
Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana.
iii) Non-employment andlor environment-orientedprogrammes such as Drought
Prone Area Programme (DPAP), Integrated Child Development Schenie
(ICDS) and Panchayat Development, Desert Development Programme
(DDP), Wastelands Programmes, etc.
 iv) Basic Needs programmes like elementary education, adult education, rural Deve1opm"nfalDisparities:
Marginalisation
water supply, rural sanitation, etc.
All these programmes independently and collectively focus on reducing rural-
urban inequalities within and across the states.

8.7.3 Measures to Overcome Inter-caste/community Disparity

Some of the important measures aimed at reducing inter-castelcommunity
r disparities are as follows.

i) Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Initiated in 1975, ICDS

is one of the largest child intervention programme in the world with a holistic
package for children below six years of age, and for pregnant and nursing
mothers. These services are: health checkup, immunization, referral services,
supplementary feeding, pre-school education, and health and nutrition through
one platform i.e. Anganwadi Centre. Starting with a modest 33 blocks1
projects, it has gradually expanded to 6,118 projects of which 5,659 projects
with 7,48,229 Anganwadi Centres were operational by March 3 1,2006. ICDS
covers 562 lakh beneficiaries consisting of 467 lakh children below 6 years
of age and 95 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers. The Rajiv Gandhi National
Creche Scheme for children of working mothers was launched on January 1,
I 2006 and is being implemented by the Central Social Welfare Board and
two other national level country organizations, namely Indian Council for
Child Welfare and the Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh.

ii) Welfare and Development of Backward Classes and other Weaker

Sections: Backward and weaker sections include many groups of population
cutting across different castes and efforts to reduce disparities with reference
to these sections are briefly as follows.

Scheduled Castes: Scheduled Castes constituting 16.23 per cent of the

total population of the country (200 1 census), suffer on account of severe
socio-economic deprivation arising out of poor asset base, dependence
on wage labour, subsistence level of farming, engagement in scavenging
and unclean occupations and related social evils. By way of special
interventions, four schemes are being implemented to encourage SC
students for continuing their education from school to higher levels.
National level finance and development corporations provide credit
facilities to the beneficiaries who are living below double the poverty
line. A new scheme of self-employment for Rehabilitationof Scavengers
assisted those scavengers who were waiting for rehabilitation and yet
to be assisted, in a time-bound manner by March 2009. To abolish the
practices of un-touchability and curb the high incidence of crimes and
atrocities against SCs, efforts are made for effective implementation of
the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act, 1989, with the
help of 22 Special Courts under the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR)
Act, 1955, and also 137 special courts under the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
-

\
Dynamics of Extension and Scheduled Tribes: According to the 2001 census, STs accounted for
Development
84.32 million, equivalent to 8.2 per cent of the country's total population.
Compared to the rest of the society, STs continue to be socio-
economically backward. The focus is on family-oriented income-
generating schemes, creation of critical infrastructure, extending
financial assistance to SHGs for community-based activities, and
development of primitive tribal groups and forest villages. Grant-in-
aid under Article 275(1) is also being provided to the states with an
objective to promote the welfare of the STs and improve administration
in the states to bring them at par with the rest of the states, and to take
up such special welfare and development programmes which are
otherwise not included in the Plan programmes. Under the flagship
scheme of Post-metric Scholarships, all eligible ST students are provided
with stipend to pursue their education beyond metric including
professional and graduate and post-graduate courses in recognized
institutions. A new scheme of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for
ST students to pursue higher education was launched during 2005-06
and has been entrusted to UGC for implementation. Economic
empowerment of STs continued through extension of financial support
to the National ScheduledTribes and Finance Development Corporation
(NSTFDC) and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India
Limited (TRIFED). Under the scheme of NSTFDC, financial support
is being extended to STs beneficiarieslentrepreneursin the form of term-
loans and micro-credit at concessional rate of interest for income
generating activities. The TRIFED purchases products from STs, thereby
strengthening their economic status.
Minorities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis were
declared as Minority Communities vide Gazette Notification issued on
October 23, 1993 by the Union Government. As per the 2001 census,
these five notified minority communities constitute 18.42 per cent of
the country's population. The main factor responsible for socio-economic
backwardness of the minority communities, particularly the Muslim
community, is the lack of access to the common school system. This is
particularly true in the case of Muslim girls. In the financial year 2006-
07, the corpus of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation which
provides financial assistance to implement educational schemes for the
benefit of the educationally backward minorities has been enhanced to
Rs.200 crore from Rs. 100 crore. Some important recommendations
relate to measures which should be undertaken for high quality
education, specifically for school education of Muslim girls, promoting
and enhancing access to Muslims in priority sector advances, imparting
training to the minorities for entrepreneurial development, participation
of minorities in micro-credit schemes, and introducing Centrally

,,
Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and Central Plan Schemes (CPS) for
minoritiks. In addition, provision of basic amenities, good quality
government schools and health facilities, pucca approach roads, and
general improvement in living conditions (supply of electricity/housing/
clean drinking water kind sanitation) at all villages/towns/habitations
142 will serve the overall interest of all communities.
 Other backward classes (OBCs): Government provides central Deve1oPmenfa'Dispnrities:
MarginalisaHon
assistance to state governmentsIUT administration for educational
development of Other Backward Classes. For construction of hostels
for OBC boys and girls, the state governmentsIUT administrations1
NGOs have been provided financial assistance. National Backward
Classes Finance and Development Corporation extend credit facilities
to persons living below double the poverty line for undertaking various
income-generating activities.

iii) Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA): This is the programme aimed at providing
educational opportunity to all the children including those deprived of
schooling. The goals of SSA are to:

a) Enroll all children of 6-14 age in School/EGS (Education Guarantee

Scheme) Centrebridge course by 2005.

b) Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and
at elementary education level by 20 10.

c) Universal enrolment and retention by 20 10.

d) Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on
education for life.

8.7.4 Measures to Overcome Gender Disparity

Some of the important measures aimed at reducing gender disparities are as
follows (http://www. egyankosh.ac.in/bitstrearn/123456789134921/1/Unit1.pdf).

Special Initiativesfor Empowerment of Women: Government of India has taken

special initiatives during the 9thand lothFive Year Plans for empowerment of
women. Recognising the fact that women have been socialized only to take a
back seat in public life, affirmative action through deliberate strategies have
been initiated to provide equal access to and control over factors contributing to
such empowerment, particularly in the areas of health, education, information,
life-long learning for self development, vocational skills, employment and
income-generating opportunities, land and other forms of property including
through inheritance, common property resources, credit, technology and markets,
etc. To this effect, the newly elected women members and the women
Chairpersons of Panchayats and the Local Bodies will be sensitized through the
recently launched special training package to take the lead in ensuring that
adequate funds~benefitsflow towards the empowerment of women and the girl-
child.

The Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and Nutrition Programme for Adolescent
Girls (NPAG): These two schemes are being implemented for the development
of adolescent girls using the existing infrastructure of the Integrated Child n
Development Scheme (ICDS). KSY promotes self- development, nutrition and
health status, literacy, numerical and vocational skills among girls in the 11-18
years age group. A new unified National Programme on Adolescent Girls,
 --

Dynamics Of Extension and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme: The Mid-Day Meal is the world's largest school
Development
feeding programme reaching out to about 12 crore children in over 12.65 lakh
schools/EGS centres1Alternative and Innovation Education (ME) Centres across
the country (http://education.nic.in/elementary/mdm/ index.htm). The scheme
is being implemented by all StatesIUTs. MDM scheme has helped in promoting
school participation, preventing classroom hunger, instilling educational values
and fostering social and gender equity.

The National Program for Education of Girls at the Elementary Level

(NPEGEL): The NPEGEL, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for
All), provides additional components for education of girls from underprivilegedl
disadvantaged sections of society, It is being implemented in Educationally
Backward Blocks (EBS) where the level of rural female literacy is less than the
national average and the gender gap is above the national average, as well as in
blocks that have at least 5 per cent SC/ST population and where SC/ST female
literacy is below 10 per cent.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV Scheme: KGBV is a scheme

launched in July 2004 for setting up residential schools at upper primary level
for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities.
It is being implemented in educationally backward blocks of the country where
female rural literacy is below that of national average and gender gap in literacy
is above that of national average. The scheme provides for a minimum reservation
of 75 per cent of the enrolment for girls from SC, ST, OBC or minority
communities. For the remaining 25 per cent, priority is accorded to girls from
families below poverty line.

The National Plan ofAction for the Girl-Child: The National Plan of Action
for the Girl-Child has been merged into the National Plan of Action for Children,
2005, which includes goals, objectives and strategies for the girl-child. The
emphasis is on creating an enabling environment, increasing choices and
promoting development through special opportunities. Equal rights in succession
and inheritance, addressingpersistent gender stereotyping and strengthening girls;
self-esteem are important strategies. Besides ensuring equal opportunity for free
and compulsory elementary education to all girls, it specifically seeks prohibition
of sex-selectivefemale foetecide and infanticide, elimination of child marriages,
security and protection from abuse, exploitation, victimization and all other forms
of violence, deprivation and neglect in the home, community and in access to
services.

8.7.5 Major Comprehensive Drive to Reduce Disparities:

Inclusive Growth
The Eleventh Plan gave a special impetus to several programmes aimed at building
rural and urban infrastructure and providing basic services, with the objective of

,I
increasing inclusiveness and reducing poverty. Some of these programmes were
new, while others represented augmenting the existing initiatives. Thirteen such
flagship programmes are listed in Table below (http:Nindiamicrofinance.com/
 Table 8.14: Flagship Development Programmes (Unit: Rs.Crore) Developmer~talDisparities:
Marginalisation
S1. Programme Ministry1 2007-08 2011-12 Total
Department Actual BE XIth
Expenditure Plan
1. MGNREGA Rural Development 12,661 40,000 156,381
2. Indira Aw as Rural Development 3,886 10,000 4 1,486
Yojana (IAY)
3. National Social Rural Development 3,104 6,158 23,536
Assistance
Programme (NSAP)
4. Pradhan Mantri Rural Development 6,500 20,000 65,002
Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY)
5. National Rural Health & Family 10,509 18,115 69,214
Health Mission Welfare
(NRHM)
6. ICDS Women & Child 5,832 10,380 38,980
Development
7. Mid-Day Meal School Education & 5,832 10,380 38,602
(MDM) Literacy
8. S a ~ Siksha
a School Education & 11,477 2 1,000 77,576
Abhiyan (SSA) Literacy
9. JNNURM Urban Development 5,508 13,700 48,485
10. Accelerated Irrigation Water Resources 5,446 12,650 46,622
Benefit Programme
(AIBP) and Other
water resources
programme
11. Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Power 3,913 6,000 25,913
Vidyutikaran Yojana
(RGGVY)
12. Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Drinking Water 7,320 11,000 46,722
Water Mission (Rural Supply
Drinking Water) -
NRDWP and Total
Sanitation Campaign

13. Rashtriya Krishi Agriculture & 1,200 7,811 18,550

Vikas Yojana Cooperation
Grand Total 81,217 186,539 691,976
Source: Planning Commission. 201 1. Draft - Faster, Sustaznable and More Incluszve Growth
An Approach to the 12" Five Year Plan See http://md~am~crofinance. comlwp-content1
uploads/2011/09/12th-Plan-Ind1a-draft-approach.pdf.

Most of these are Centrally-sponsored Schemes/programmes, which are

implemented by State Government agencies, but are largely funded by the Central
Government with a defined State Government share. The total expenditure on
these schemes by the Central Government in 20 11112 (budget estimate) is
Rs. 188,573 crore, and the total expenditure during the Eleventh Plan period is
145
DynamicsofExtensionand almost Rs.700,000 crore. As one would expect, the effectiveness of their
Development
implementation varies from State to State. Instances of misuse of funds are
frequently reported in studies and press reports, and these are a legitimate source %

of concern that needs attention. However, it must be kept in mind that while
instances of misuse or leakage present serious problems, they do not necessarily
imply that the overall impact of the programme is not positive. For example,
MGNREGA, which was started in 2006-07 and extended to cover the whole
country during the Eleventh Plan, has seen several instances of misuse of funds,
but it has also notched up a remarkable success. There is a proliferation of
Centrally-sponsored Schemes over a period of years. This has led to poor
implementation, duplication, lack of convergence and sub-optimal results. There
is an urgent need to transform the system and sharply reduce the number of
schemes. This will enable more focused and effective implementation. A
Committee under Shri B. K. Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, has
been appointed to review the entire gamut of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and
make recommendations for rationalization and consolidationleading to reduction
in their number.

With a people-centred, demand-driven architecture, completely different from

the earlier rural employment programmes, MGNREGA has directly led to the
creation of 987 crore person-days of work since inception. In financial year 20 101
11, MGNREGA provided employment to 5.45 crore households generating
253.68 crore person-days. It has also successfully raised the negotiating power
of agricultural labour, resulting in higher agricultural wages, improved economic
outcomes and resulted in reduction in distress migration. This is not to deny that
with better project design implementation leakages'could be greatly reduced;
and the assets so created could make a much larger contribution to increase land
productivity. Reforms in implementation of plan schemes are a priority and should
receive focused attention in the Twelfth Plan. There is need for more flexibility
in the design of the schemes to reflect the realities on ground across the States.
Special provisions should be considered for encouraging innovation and special
efforts to promote convergence at the level of implementation to prevent
duplication and to create synergies that improve the quality of outcomes.

8.7.5.1 Inclusive Development: Role of Extension Education in

Reducing Disparities
Government of India has made "inclusive growth a key element of their policy
in Eleventh Five Year Plan, stating as a goal "achieving a growth process in
which people in different walks of life feel that they too benefit significantly
from the process".

How a country may achieve a self-sustaining transition from traditional to

industrial economics has been addressed by many contributions to development
theory. Economic growth does not establish'or suggest, however, an explicit
cause-effect relationship between countries' rate of economic growth and the
resulting poverty reduction, although policymakers often assume an implicit
connection. One view is that growth is pro-poor only if the incomes of poor
people grow faster than those of the population as a whole. An alternativeposition
is that growth should be considered to be pro-poor as along as poor people also
 Development Policy Report of World Bank, 2006 reveals that inclusive growth Developmental Disparities:
Marginalbation
is the indisputable way to reform the regional imbalances and strengthen economic
gains. The DPR also reveals that the inclusive growth process should go towards
the enhancement of the quality of basic services. including education, power,
health care and water supply for every individual across the country. The report
also suggests that the stress should be given not only on the distribution of
economic gains but also on empowering people in enjoying their social life and
at creating employment opportunities.

Several studies suggest that there is a correlation between inclusive economic

a
growth and the level of public expenditure on social development including
education and health (Habito, 2009). Literacy is arguably the most significant
factor in poverty reduction as it enhances employability. The role played by literacy
has been found to be particularly notable by Ravallion and Datt (2002), who
reported that nearly two-thirds of the differences between the elasticity of the
head count index of poverty to non-farm output for Bihar and Kerala was
attributable to the latter substantially higher initial literacy rate.

Inclusive Development and Education: The 86" amendment to the Constitution

of India in 2009 makes education as a fundamental right. Education is universally
recognized as a central component of human capital. The role of education as a
contributor to economic growth and its impact on population control, life-
expectancy, infant mortality, improving nutritional status and strengthening civil
institutions is well recognised. Moreover, the social rates of returns to investments
in all levels of education much exceed the long-term opportunity cost of capital.
In normal course educated parents would send their children to schools. Where
parents are not educated they may send their children to schools if there are
enough incentives to attract and retain the children in schools. The Government
of India and the United Nations (UN) recognized that certain sections of the
population remain marginalized. Children who are marginalized by the formal
education system are usually scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and working
children, those belonging to minorities, disabled children and children in remote
areas. Girls from these groups are severely marginalized.

Development programmes for industrial, scientific, agricultural and commerce

growth could not be successful without an improvement of human resources.
Education is the solution to many of the problems related to the economy and
also the parameter for any inclusive growth. So, education had given first priority
among national requirements and Indian government has taken many measures
and also framed tbducational policies accordingly and long back the University
Grants Commission in its policy frame on Higher Education recognized extension
as the third dimension of the institutions of higher education in addition to the
two-fold dimension of teaching and research.

Role of extension education: In this context, extension education assumes greater

importance in the context of tackling the issues of disparities in the changing
world. There are many potential areas such as the following which provide enough,
scope for extension education to play its role in advancing the plans, schemes
and programmes,aimed at reducing the disparities: i) Increasing the efficiency in
agricultural production; ii) Increasing the efficiency in processing, marketing,
distribution and utilization of agricultural produce and other rural.based small-
scale industrial products; iii) Conservation, development and use of natural
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
8) What are the various programmes implemented by the Government of
India to overcome disparities?
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 1) There are two main categories of indicators to measure economic
development: i) Social, economic and political indicators, and ii) Indicators
in terms of quality of life. Within these categories there are different
approaches followed by the experts. UNRISD and Adelman and Morris
approaches are the two major studies in the first category of indicators to
measure economic development. The UNRISD (1970) approach has selected
16 core indicators (nine social and seven economic) and constructed a
composite social development indexes to measure economic development.
!
Adelman and Morris approach has classified 74 developing countries by
taking 40 variables into consideration with the help of factor analysis
technique. The approach has tried to examine the interdependence between
social and political variables and the level of economic development. Under
second category, there are two main approaches i.e. Physical Quality of Life
Index of Morris (1979) and Human Development Index of United Nations
Development Programme (1990). Physical Quality of Life Index has taken
three variables - life expectancy, infant mortality and literacy - and
1
k
constructed a simple composite index to measure economic development.
By taking both economic and non-economic social indicators such as gains
in literacy, schooling, health conditions and services, etc, the United Nations

1 Development Programme has tried to construct a refinement of Human

Development Index to measure development so as to give ranks. These
indicators are useful in understanding the developmental disparities.
2) Disparity means the condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank or
degree. For instance:
Age disparity- being young, middle-aged, old, etc.
Rank disparity - being a chaprasi, clerk, an officer, etc.
Degree of disparity -being poor, average, excellent (as in the condition
of a car), or developed, developing, underdeveloped (as in status of a
country), etc.
Disparity and development are like two sides of a coin. Disparity in
development creates bottlenecks to further development. The less the
disparity, the greater will be the chances of development; and, the greater
the disparity, the less will be the chances that development takes place. Thus,
if the disparities widen beyond proportion, the deprived get excluded from
developmentalprocess as their participation in the process becomes marginal
and get only fringe benefits of the overall development processes. Such
phenomenon is true in the case of countiies, communities and the individuals
at the respective levels.
3) Broadly speaking; we can identify the following main types of disparities.
i) Global disparities - Inter-regional and inter-country disparities
ii) National disparities or Disparities in India
Inter-state and intra-state disparities
Dynamics of Extension and '
Development
Gender disparities.
The gender disparities, of course, cut across all the other types of disparities.
4) Global disparity describes the disparities that exist between and among the
nations and regions i.e. inter-country and inter-regional disparities. For
example, socioeconomic disparity exists at the global level, and that is why
countries are classified into two categories: developed and underdeveloped.
There are countries which are in between these two categories which are
referred to as developing countries. Each country is at a different level of
development, which czauses disparity among the countries. Some counties
have been endowed with abundant resources, while there are countries that
are extremely poor in resources. Resources are of various types: material
resources, manpower resources, natural resources, and financial resources.
Differences in the availability and utilization of these resources, by and large,
cause disparity among the countries, and put them at different levels of
development.
5) There are many causes of disparity. They are mainly as follows.
Failures of Economic Growth
Inequalities in Land Ownership
Private Ownership of Industries, Trade and Buildings
Inequalities in Professional Training
Rapid Price Rise and Adverse Terms of Trade
Poor Availability of Credit Facilities
Urban Bias in Private Investment
Role of the Government
Conflicts and Displaced Persons
6) World Development Report 20001200 1 (UNICEF, 2009) proposed a strategy
for attacking poverty in three ways:
i) Promoting opportunity;
ii) Facilitating empowerment; and
iii) Enhancing security.
Promoting opportunity implies steps to increasejobs, credit, roads, electricity,
schools, water sanitation and health services. Facilitating empowerment
requires creation of sound and responsive institutions for the benefit of the
poor. Enhancing security implies reducing vulnerability to economic shocks,
natural disasters, ill-health, disability and personal violence. This is an
intiinsic part of enhancing well-being and encouraging investment in human
capital and in higher-risk, and higher-return activities.
7) Important measures to reduce inequalitiesldisparities in developing countries
are as follows.
Rising productivity of small-scale agriculture.
 Programmes for increasing employment opportunities.
Strengtheningand enhancing production of small-scale and informal sectors.
a Emphasising labour-intensive industrialization.
c Programmes for upliftment of the rural poor .
Progressive tax policy.
Sustained investment in people to enhance human capabilities.
Subsidising goods and services.
Providing infrastructure.
Social security system.
People's participation in development.
Promoting accountability,
8) Different measures undertaken or programmes launched by the Government
of India to reduce different types of disparities in India can be summed up as
follows.
i) Measures/programmes undertaken to overcome inter-state disparities
include the following.
c Western Ghats Development programme to improve and manage
natural resources by including village panchayats and NGOs.
Special Area Development progammes for the coastal regions.
Backward region grant funds by merging the Rashtriya Sam Vikas
Yojana.~
ii) Measures/programmesundertaken to overcome rural-urban disparities
include the following.
The Swarnjayanti Gram SwarojgarYojana Progreamme for group-
lending to alleviate poverty.
The Sampoorna Grameena Rojgar Yojana to provide additional wage
employment in rural areas.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide 100 days
guaranteed employment for rural youth.
iii) Measures/programmes undertaken to overcome the inter-caste/
community disparity include the following.
6 Sarva Siksha Abhiyan programme aimed to bridge all gender and
social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at the elementary
level.
Integrated Child Development Services to provide health check up,
immunization, referral services, supplementary feeding, pre-school
education, and health and nutrition education through Anganwadi
centres.
Welfare and development of backward classes and other weaker
sections, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities.
151
Dynamics of Extension and The self-employment programmes, protection of civil rights acts,
Developmmt
abolition of un- touchability Act, prevention of atrocities Act were
implemented along with the reservations for employment.
iv) Measures/programmes undertaken to overcome gender-disparities
include the following.
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and Nutrition Programme for
Adolescent Girls (NPAG). These two schemes were being
implemented for the development of adolescent girls using the
existing infrastructure of the Integrated Child Development Scheme
(ICDS). KSY helps to promote self-development, nutrition and .
health status, literacy, numerical and vocational skills among girls
in the 11- 18 years age groups.
Mid-Day Meal scheme is aimed to provide cooked mid-day meal
with a nutritional content of 450 calories and 12 grams of proteins
is served to children studying at primary level in government,
government-aided and local body schools.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme is for setting
up residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging to
predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities.
The Siksha Karmi Project (SKP) for qualitative omprovement of
primary education in remote, arid and socio-economically backward
villages.
In addition to that a separate National Plan of Action for the Girl-Child
has been merged into the National Plan of Action for Children, 2005
for reducing gender disparities.

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