question_answer

Kerala, with lower per capita income a better human development ranking than Punjab. Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should not be to compare states. Do you agree?  Discuss.

Answer:

Yes, I agree that money income or per capita income is not the only factor/ criterion behind human development or human welfare. Factors like Infant Mortality Rate, Literacy Rate and Net Attendance Ratio is also very crucial for overall human development. In these factors Kerala is a better than Punjab.

(i) Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala was 11 as compared to 49 in Punjab (in the year 2003).

(ii) Literacy rate (%) was 91 in Kerala as compared to 70 in Punjab, (in the year 2001).

(iii) Net Attendance Ratio from class I to V was 91 in Kerala as compared to 81 in Punjab (in 1995-96).

Due to these advantages, Kerala has a better human development ranking than Punjab, in spite of lower per capita income.