Social Dev Factors
Bangladesh better than some Indian states
Reports The Hindu
Considering the remarkable development, especially on social dimensions, compared to some “richer” states of India, Bangladesh is very much in the news these days in India, reported The Hindu yesterday.
It said, “We seem to have failed to notice the striking developmental success that Bangladesh has had in the last few decades, compared with some high-profile Indian states.”
The report stated that Bangladesh is considerably “poorer” than India going by GDP alone - its GDP per capita in 2010 was only US $1,585, roughly half of India's (US $3,419). But how is Bangladesh doing on social dimensions?
The infant mortality rate and the under-five mortality rate in Bangladesh is better than 13 large Indian states, including Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The proportion of underweight children is also lower in Bangladesh compared to six Indian states.
Bangladesh's Total Fertility Rate, children born per woman, is 2.2 (nearly the “replacement rate”) and lower than that of 10 large Indian states, including Gujarat (2.5) and Haryana (2.3).
In access to improved sanitation, Bangladesh does better than every large Indian state other than Kerala, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal, it said.
The public health expenditure as a proportion of the GDP in Bangladesh has been much higher than in India until a few years ago, the report mentioned.
One of the major reasons has been social mobilisation at the local level, such as through women's self-help groups, which has led to increased public awareness and greater accountability in service delivery, it added.
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