Eastern states of country are keeping India backward: Amitabh Kant

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday set the cat among the pigeons when he suggested that states like Bihar and UP, among others, are holding back India. To rub salt on the wound, he added that the southern and western India parts were doing well and growing speedily.

Speaking at the first Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Memorial Lecture at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, Kant said, "The Eastern part of India — particularly states like Bihar, UP, Chhattisgarh, MP, and Rajasthan — are keeping India backward, especially on social indicators. While we have improved on ease of doing business, we have remained backward on human development index."

Kant further said that out of 188 countries, India is still at 131 in the Human Development Index (HDI), elaborating, "When the country's HDI has to improve, we have to focus on these social indicators. We are working on these through Aspirational Districts Programme."

Stressing upon the significance of sustainable growth, the NITI Aayog CEO said, "Education and health are vital and in these two areas, India is lagging behind. Our learning outcomes are poor — a Class 5 student is not able to do Class 2-level subtractions. He/she is not even able to read his/her mother tongue. Infant mortality rates are very high. Unless we improve on these aspects, it will be difficult to grow in a consistent way." He also called for a conscious effort to frame policies to give women better opportunities.