Resource information
This study on Jharkhand in India
addresses the challenges faced by that new state of India
(founded in November 2000) to surmount adverse initial
conditions of low average income, very high incidence of
poverty, and little social development. In addition, initial
health and education indicators in Jharkhand were also
markedly unfavorable in comparison to both the all-India
average and the major Indian states. The paper points out
that in order to put its fiscal house in order, the state
needs to introduce reforms for improving resource
mobilization, increasing cost effectiveness of expenditure
and rationalizing the budgetary processes. Improvement of
infrastructure is critically important, and once this has
occurred, this will lead to favorable pro-poor changes in
the labor market as well. Two opposite views of the
development debate are represented by the different degrees
of importance given to mining and agriculture. One view
contends that the development of the mining sector can usher
in a new decade of development in Jharkhand. The second view
is that the potential risks associated with the mining
sector are high and that agriculture has shown great
potential through impressive growth in recent years
contributing significantly to poverty reduction and human
resource development. Given the strengths and weaknesses of
the two options, the present study suggests a middle path,
aiming at an inter-temporal balance between the two
strategies. The paper stresses that social inclusion and
effective citizenship for all are desirable outcomes
everywhere, especially in Jharkhand with its sharp social
and regional divide. It concludes that political commitment
is needed to "make development happen" in the
shortest possible time.
