Estimation of socio-economic development in hilly states

Abstract

The level of development of hilly states of the country has been estimated with the help of composite index based on optimum combination of socio-economic indicators. The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttaranchal has been included in the study. The data for the year 2000-2001 on seventeen socio-economic indicators have been used. Out of seventeen indicators included in the study, five indicators are directly concerned with agricultural development and the rest twelve indicators describe the level of development in infrastructural service sector. The level of development has been separately estimated for agricultural, infrastructural and overall socio-economic fields. In case of overall socio-economic development, the State of Mizoram has been ranked first and the State of Arunachal Pradesh is ranked last. Positive significant association is found between the developments in infrastructural facilities and overall socio-economic fields. Literacy rate is also influencing the level of development in the positive direction. For bringing about uniform regional development, potential targets for various indicators have been estimated for low developed states.