Because Chhattisgarh and Uttarkhand have done better than what remains of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh as far as per capita growth of State GDP goes, it is argued that small States are more efficient.

But this proposition can be verified only after going back and bifurcating GDP figures for the unbifurcated States. And once this is done, it turns out that Chhattisgarh, Uttarkhand, and to some extent Jharkhand, were doing better all along, even before they became States.

Another surprise is that Punjab (3.11 per cent) grew slower than Uttar Pradesh (3.17 per cent) in the first eight years of this century, while Haryana managed an impressive 6.98 per cent.

As expected, Gujarat tops the list (9.14 per cent), but it is surprising to find Maharashtra (6.18 per cent), Karnataka (5.87 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (5.27 per cent) bested by states like Kerala (7.55 per cent), Orissa (7.5 per cent) and Uttarkhand (6.71 per cent). At this rate, they are in danger of being overtaken by Bihar (5.69 per cent), except for Tamil Nadu, which has already been left behind.

‘Low base' is not sufficient to explain high growth; lifting yourself up by your bootstraps is not the easiest thing in the world.

Published on June 24, 2011