Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXVI No. 18, January 1-15, 2017
May be 2nd best State, but lags behind on 5 counts
(By a Special Correspondent)
In India Today’s latest survey of the States of nation, Tamil Nadu is ranked second among the 21 major states in the -country. It is also ranked as the “most improved state” of the year having sunk to 20th in 2015.
Remaining within five top positions among 21 states for each of the development indicators (referred to as categories in the study) is assumed, in this report,
the threshold for the purpose of identifying areas of shortfall. According to this -criterion, Tamil Nadu falls short in the following categories: ranks 8 in Economy, 6 in -Inclusiveness of Development, 17 in E-governance, 17 in Entrepreneurship and 7 in Environment.
In respect of Economy, as an indicator, the ratio of capital expenditure to total population could have been low adversely affecting the ranking. Extensive distribution of freebies, provision of highly subsidised food and such measures that are vote-winners do not have a lasting impact on the economy’s capacity to generate income and raise living standards. Instead, expenditure on building infrastructure and social assets would have had the effect of enlarging the economy’s capacity to generate income streams. A shift in emphasis in the allocation of resources favouring asset building projects seems desirable.
As regards Inclusive Development, insufficient support to Central Government schemes of creating Jan Dhan accounts among the rural population could have pulled down the state’s ranking; stronger effort to promote the inclusive banking scheme may be needed.
It is difficult to concede that a State that houses some of the leading IT companies and boasts of a sizeable pool of computer expertise and literacy could fall to the 17th rank in a field of 21 for E-governance. It shows that possession of enormous technical resources by itself does not serve the objective without robust technology outreach mechanisms that can free common people from the clutches of middlemen and lower bureaucracy for their basic needs. For instance, sustained effort may be necessary to increase the number of services for citizens’ participation and to train and enrol panchayats to provide e-services.
The low ranking of 17 on Entrepreneurship, however, appears incongruous with the -generally accepted view that investment environment in the state is of a high standard; it is possible, therefore, that support extended to start-ups is possibly weak calling for major effort in this direction.
Much remains to be done to improve the State’s ranking on Environment by way of strict enforcement of minimum standards in industrial emissions and urban pollution. Air pollution levels in Chennai have reached a record high with the suspended particulate matter in many pockets of the city at 45 per cent above the permissible limit, according to data analysed by The Hindu (June 2015). More than 700 new vehicles get added every day to Chennai’s roads, contributing to a rise in sulphur dioxide levels. “Traffic is moving at snail’s speed. That is one of the major reasons behind the sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide emission” explains Dr. P. Sudhakar, Joint Director, CPR Environmental Education Centre. The alarming increase in the number of vehicles on the roads of cities and towns in and outside Chennai calls for drastic action before the situation deteriorates out of control.
