Prabhat Khabar unveils Jharkhand Development Report, 2011

Prabhat Khabar has just released its annual Jharkhand Development Report -2011, [JDR-11] which is its sixth year-on-year annual issue. Jharkhand Development Report series is an annual compilation that reveals Jharkhand's status vis-à-vis other fast developing states on socio-economic parameters. It also apprises the state as to how did it do individually with the industrially developed states on one hand; and agriculturally advanced states on the other.

The daily has been assigning this annual study since last six years to a team led by the eminent economist and market researcher, Dr. Laveesh Bhandari of Indicus Analytics, New Delhi. JDR series closely monitors the development of Jharkhand and in many ways sets the agenda of governance in the state. The JDR-11 is available for public through its publishing company, Neutral Publishing House Limited, Ranchi. The soft bound pulp version is priced at Rs. 100/- while the soft copy of the same is also available at Rs. 100/- a CD.

The JDR -11 review gives states data on education, health, welfare, urbanization, poverty, human development indexes, crime, infrastructure, market capitalization, employment, industrialization, per capita income and expenditure etc. It also compares the same with other developing states.

Harivansh, the chief editor, Prabhat Khabar and the inspiration behind this annual series comments on the latest report by saying that the state hasn't caught on with the developmental pace despite having become a 10 year old state. He says "a decade is a long period in one's life. A ten year old, for instance overcomes both the primary and permanent teething woes. But in Jharkhand's case, permanent dentition stage is still a far cry as this ten year old Jharkhand is still struggling with its milk teething woes¦!' Mr. Harivansh was commenting on dubious records that the state had created in institutional corruption and also set in instability record or sorts in the governance. The state has already seen as many as six chief Ministers in a matter of 10 years.

That said even in this gloomy scenario the state has done reasonably well, according to the latest JDR-11. The annual growth in state's income has been steady at 7.8% during 2000-2010. Its per capital income has also maintained an annual growth rate of 10% all through the decade of its coming into existence. But for its political upheavals, the state could have done much better than most shining Indian states.

"These ten years will therefore go in the history as period of wasted opportunity", opines Mr. Harivansh. "Which is why Prabhat Khabar is duty bound to the state to publish such annual reports and bring it on the public domain so that people are enlightened constantly as to how their own state is competing with other aspirational states" says Harivansh, adding, "Political society in Jharkhand should worry about this wasted decade. Political parties, so awfully occupied in toppling of successive Governments should realize that if the situations don't change in Jharkhand quickly, where will the state head in the decade that has just begun", warns Harivansh.

The JDR-11 besides having easy to gasp and digest statistical tables on various socio-economic parameters, this 154 page book also has worthy contributions from eminent authors like Dr. Sibal Gupta of Asian Development Research Institute, Patna, Mr. Jayant Sinha, Managing Director of Omidyar Network India Advisors who has spent 12 years with Mckinsey, Dr. Ashok Desai, the consulting Editor of The Telegraph and a columnist with Businessworld and Dr. Sumita Kale, the Chief Economist with Indicus Analytics.

Prabhat Khabar has recently released a similar assessment of Bihar through its Bihar Development Report which was appreciated much in the fraternity since there was no much data available on this state now in prime focus.