Imbalances in Development between Regions and Social Groups : Evidences from Gujarat

Gujarat state in India is a dynamic regional economy undergoing rapid industrial development, but there exist tremendous imbalances in its levels of development. The paper highlights disparities among the social groups and regions in terms of employment and poverty levels by reviewing the available secondary material. There is absence of growth in income in agriculture. Industrial development too continues to be highly concentrated in nature. The hill districts where the tribal population resides are marked by persistent backwardness, and have not experienced trickle down of growth benefits and very little employment or income growth. Scheduled tribes (ST) comprises 15% of the population yet 43% of the rural poor in the state are concentrated in this group. Their work participation rates are the highest and increasing in the last decade but they are dominantly engaged in agriculture and other manual jobs. The problem of out-migration in search for work in Gujarat is of a huge magnitude. Overall head count ratio of rural poverty in Gujarat declined consistently from 1983 to 1994, however poverty is unevenly distributed among the social groups. In rural areas the incidence of poverty among STs is more than double that of the population in general. Poverty gaps between ST and non-scheduled households is very high, hence specifically targeted interventions for this group are required. Composition of rural poor further reinforces the abysmal condition faced by the tribal population. The ratio of their population share to their share in poor population is most unfavourable in Gujarat among all the major states. Demographic characteristics such as those relating to occupation and state of human capital development have an important role to play. The household characteristics responsible for persistent backwardness and poverty have been hinted at through a primary data of poor tribal households. Lack of higher education and appropriate skill formation reduced the capacity of households to take up diversified economic activities and dictated the choice of occupation. The study has important implications for policies to combat the economic deprivation observed among backward regions and populations. Policy focus for tribal and backward areas have to be on development of human capital through education, training, skill enhancement, development of rural infrastructural facilities and expansion of institutions (for credit, marketing) and mechanisms to enable business, entrepreneurship and services