12/2/2016

Top9CausesResponsibleforRegionalImbalancesinIndia

Top9CausesResponsibleforRegionalImbalancesinIndia
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HerewedetailabouttheninemajorcausesresponsibleforregionalimbalancesinIndia.

1.HistoricalFactor:
Historically,regionalimbalancesinIndiastartedfromitsBritishregime.TheBritishrulersaswellas
industrialistsstartedtodeveloponlythoseearmarkedregionsofthecountrywhichaspertheirowninterest
werepossessingrichpotentialforprosperousmanufacturingandtradingactivities.
BritishindustrialistsmostlypreferredtoconcentratetheiractivitiesintwostateslikeWestBengaland
MaharashtraandmoreparticularlytothreemetropolitancitieslikeKolkata,MumbaiandChennai.They
concentratedalltheirindustriesinandaroundthesecitiesneglectingtherestofthecountrytoremain
backward.
ThelandpolicyfollowedbytheBritishfrustratedthefarmerstothemaximumextentandalsoledtothe
growthofprivilegedclasslikezamindarsandmoneylendersfortheexploitationofthepoorfarmers.Inthe
absenceofproperlandreformmeasuresandproperindustrialpolicy,thecountrycouldnotattaineconomic
growthtoasatisfactorylevel.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

Theunevenpatternofinvestmentinindustryaswellasineconomicoverheadsliketransportand
communicationfacilities,irrigationandpowermadebytheBritishhadresultedunevengrowthofsome
areas,keepingtheotherareastotallyneglected.

2.GeographicalFactors:
Geographicalfactorsplayanimportantroleinthedevelopmentalactivitiesofadevelopingeconomy.The
difficultterrainsurroundedbyhills,riversanddenseforestsleadstoincreaseinthecostofadministration,
costofdevelopmentalprojects,besidesmakingmobilizationofresourcesparticularlydifficult.
MostoftheHimalayanstatesofIndia,i.e.,HimachalPradesh.NorthernKashmir,thehilldistrictsofUttar
PradeshandBihar,ArunachalPradeshandotherNorthEasternstates,remainedmostlybackwardduetoits
inaccessibilityandotherinherentdifficulties.
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Top9CausesResponsibleforRegionalImbalancesinIndia

Adverseclimateandpronenesstofloodarealsoresponsiblefactorsforpoorrateofeconomicdevelopmentof
differentregionsofthecountryasreflectedbylowagriculturalproductivityandlackofindustrialization.
ThusthesenaturalfactorshaveresultedunevengrowthofdifferentregionsofIndia.

3.LocationalAdvantages:
Locationaladvantagesareplayinganimportantroleindeterminingthedevelopmentstrategyofaregion.
Duetosomelocationaladvantages,someregionsaregettingspecialfavourinrespectofsiteselectionsof
variousdevelopmentalprojects.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

Whiledeterminingthelocationofironandsteelprojectsorrefineriesoranyheavyindustrialproject,some
technicalfactorsincludedinthelocationaladvantagearegettingspecialconsiderations.Thusregional
imbalancesariseduetosuchlocationaladvantagesattachedtosomeregionsandthelocationaldisadvantages
attachedtosomeotherbackwardregions.

4.InadequacyofEconomicOverheads:
Economicoverheadsliketransportandcommunicationfacilities,power,technology,bankingandinsurance
etc.areconsideredveryimportantforthedevelopmentofaparticularregion.Duetoadequacyofsuch
economicoverheads,someregionsaregettingaspecialfavourinrespectofsettlementofsome
developmentalprojectswhereasduetoinadequacyofsucheconomicoverheads,someregionsofthecountry,
viz.,NorthEasternRegion,HimachalPradesh,Biharetc.remainedmuchbackwardascomparedtoother
developedregionsofthecountry.Moreover,newinvestmentintheprivatesectorhasageneraltendencyto
concentratemuchonthoseregionshavingbasicinfrastructuralfacilities.

5.FailureofPlanningMechanism:
AlthoughbalancedgrowthhasbeenacceptedasoneofthemajorobjectivesofeconomicplanninginIndia
sincetheSecondPlanonwardsbutitdidnotmakemuchheadwayinachievingthisobject.Rather,inreal
sense,planningmechanismshasenlargedthedisparitybetweenthedevelopedstatesandlessdeveloped
statesofthecountry.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

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Top9CausesResponsibleforRegionalImbalancesinIndia

Inrespectofallocatingplanoutlayrelativelydevelopedstatesgetmuchfavourthanlessdevelopedstates.
FromFirstPlantotheSeventhPlan,PunjabandHaryanahavereceivedthehighestpercapitaplanoutlay,all
along.TheotherthreestateslikeGujarat,MaharashtraandMadhyaPradeshhavealsoreceivedlarger
allocationofplanoutlaysinalmostallthefiveyearplans.
Ontheotherhand,thebackwardstateslikeBihar,Assam,Orissa,UttarPradeshandRajasthanhavebeen
receivingthesmallestallocationofpercapitaplanoutlayinalmostalltheplans.Duetosuchdivergenttrend,
imbalancebetweenthedifferentstatesinIndiahasbeencontinuouslywidening,inspiteofframing
achievementofregionalbalanceasoneoftheimportantobjectivesofeconomicplanninginthecountry.

6.MarginalizationoftheImpactofGreenRevolutiontoCertainRegions:
InIndia,thegreenrevolutionhasimprovedtheagriculturalsectortoaconsiderableextentthroughthe
adoptionofnewagriculturalstrategy.Butunfortunatelythebenefitofsuchnewagriculturalstrategyhas
beenmarginalizedtocertaindefiniteregionskeepingtheotherregionstotallyuntouched.
TheGovernmenthasconcentratedthisnewstrategytotheheavilyirrigatedareaswiththeideatousethe
scarceresourcesinthemostproductivemannerandtomaximizetheproductionoffoodgrainssoastosolve
theproblemoffoodcrisis.Thusthebenefitofgreenrevolutionisverymuchrestrictedtothestateslike
Punjab,HaryanaandplaindistrictsofUttarPradeshleavingtheotherstatestotallyinthedarkaboutthe
adoptionofnewagriculturalstrategy.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

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Top9CausesResponsibleforRegionalImbalancesinIndia

Thishasmadethewellofffarmersmuchbetteroff,whereasthedrylandfarmersandnonfarmingrural
populationremainedtotallyuntouched.Thusinthiswaynewagriculturalstrategyhasaggravatedregional
imbalancesduetoitslackofallembracingapproach.

7.LackofGrowthofAncillaryIndustriesinBackwardStates:
TheGovernmentofIndiahasbeenfollowingadecentralizedapproachforthedevelopmentofbackward
regionsthroughitsinvestmentprogrammesonpublicsectorindustrialenterpriseslocatedinbackwardareas
likeRourkela,Barauni,Bhilai,Bongaigaonetc.Butduetolackofgrowthofancillaryindustriesintheseareas,
alltheseareasremainedbackwardinspiteofhugeinvestmentmadebytheCentre.

8.LackofMotivationonthePartofBackwardStates:
GrowingregionalimbalanceinIndiahasalsobeenresultedfromlackofmotivationonthepartofthe
backwardstatesforindustrialdevelopment.WhilethedevelopedstateslikeMaharashtra.Punjab,Haryana,
Gujarat,TamilNaduetc.aretryingtoattainfurtherindustrialdevelopment,butthebackwardstateshave
beenshowingtheirinterestonpoliticalintriguesandmanipulationsinsteadofindustrialdevelopment.

9.PoliticalInstability:
Anotherimportantfactorresponsibleforregionalimbalanceisthepoliticalinstabilityprevailinginthe
backwardregionsofthecountry.Politicalinstabilityintheformofunstablegovernment,extremistviolence,
lawandorderproblemetc.havebeenobstructingtheflowofinvestmentsintothesebackwardregions
besidesmakingflightofcapitalfromthesebackwardstates.Thusthispoliticalinstabilityprevailinginsame
backwardregionsofthecountryarestandingasahurdleinthepathofeconomicdevelopmentofthese
regions.

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