- The Economic Survey of 2022 employs geospatial data gathered from satellites, smart devices, drones, and other anonymous data sources to map the long-term development and impact of India’s infrastructure boom.
Focusing on many infrastructural aspects including electricity generation, operational airports, metro projects, and even the net sown area across the country, the survey documents how several public welfare schemes combined with a sprawling infrastructure growth are becoming an enabler for the economy, and will also be critical in aiding the recovery after almost two years of the pandemic.
Firstly, the survey compares the night-time luminosity between 2012 and 2021. Extensive data gathered from satellites offers an insightful representation of the expansion of electricity supply, one of the biggest successes of the government that began with the promise of taking electricity to every village in India.
The night-time luminosity is also a testament to the increasing economic activity, more rural areas graduating to become rurban (rural+urban areas), and the growth of ribbon developments between urban hubs, especially on the outskirts of the city.
Interestingly, the luminosity data is validated within the same chapter for the National Capital Region via the comparison between the urban density of 2001 and 2021.
In 2014-15, India’s total power generation, including renewable energy sources, was a little around 1,100 billion units, registering a growth of 8.84 per cent from the previous year.
For 2015-16, the growth was at 5.69 per cent, 5.80 per cent for 2016-17, 5.35 per cent for 2017-18, 5.19 per cent for 2018-19 before dipping to 0.95 per cent in 2019-20 and declining by 2.45 per cent in the pandemic year of 2020-21. However, for 2021-22, the growth is estimated to be more than 9 per cent, thus reversing the red from the pandemic years.
Various schemes are undertaken by the Ministry of Power, such as UDAY and Ujala, have significantly contributed to the power expansion, as evident by the night-time luminosity maps.
Two, the highway network. In August 2011, India’s national highway network was around 72,000 kilometres. However, by 2021, this almost doubled to 140,000 kilometres. Already, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways has said the Government is expeditiously developing a national highway network of two lakh kilometres by 2025.
In the same event, in November 2021, the construction of 65,000 km of national highways is being done under the Bharatmala Phase 1 and 2. There is a plan to develop around 35,000 km of highways under Bharatmala Phase-1 with an overall capital expenditure of over Rs 10 lakh crore, of which 20,000 km is already under construction.
The ministry has been working overnight to construct and develop new highways, thus registering some staggering numbers. During the financial year of 2020-21, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry had constructed 8,169 kilometres of National Highways from April 2020 to 15 January 2021, i.e. with a speed of around 28.16 kilometres per day. During the same period in the preceding financial year, a total of 7,573 kilometres of roads were constructed, with a speed of 26.11 kilometres per day, according to the data made available by the ministry.
One of the greater successes within this staggering highway network was the connectivity established between the rural clusters and urban centres, as evident by the maps in the survey.
Three is the number of operational airports. As per the survey, between November 2016, and December, 2021, the number of operational airports more than doubled from 62 to 130.
States like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and more importantly, the North-East. A lot of this development and the growth in the number of airports had to do with the UDAN programme, launched in 2016, with an aim to boost regional connectivity. As of November 2021, a total of 395 routes had been commenced under the UDAN programme.
Four is the increase in the network of commercial bank branches. Between March 2011 and March 2021, the number of commercial bank branches across India increased from around 74,000 to more than 122,000. The increase in the spread of the commercial bank network is a testament to the financial inclusion the government has been striving for since its first day.
Be it the Jan Dhan Yojana that has over 400 million account holders today, or the several pension and insurance schemes, or the much spoke about MUDRA programme which offers entrepreneurs collateral-free loans up to Rs. 10 lakhs, the increased density of banks, especially in rural areas, in the long-term, would be the foundation for a $5 trillion economy.
Lastly, urban development is viewed through the prism of population density. The survey looks at the population density and the contrasts between 2001 and 2021 for the National Capital Region. Compared to 2001, in 2021, population clusters with 50,000 to 150,000 people and 25,000 and 50,000 have emerged. Also, a huge growth has been mapped in the number of clusters with a population between 1,000 and 10,000, especially in what are now known as the economic hotspots of Noida and Gurgaon. A similar story is playing out in India’s innovation capital, Bengaluru.
To sum it up, the survey does an excellent job to map the infrastructure boom in India, and how it is integral to the long-term development of the country. Ideally, the derivations from the geospatial data must be studied in tandem with the national infrastructure pipeline worth Rs. 100 Lakh Crore to understand its potential and importance for the country’s economy across the 2020s.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)