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UP and Bihar: Long Road to Development

D. Muthukrishnan

Population of UP is 240 million 
Population of Bihar is 130 million 

The combined population of just these 2 states, 370 million, is around 25% of India. It's more than even the US population of 345 million.

Their average percapita is roughly around $1100. 

The GDP percapita of subsaharan Africa is $1710.

This is our biggest challenge. This shows our very long journey ahead.

So, any talk of Viksit Bharat or Viswaguru is very far away from the reality.

UP and Bihar need to invest heavily in their people. Social capital and knowledge capital needs to be their priority; not expressways or airports. Aggressive focus required on education,  healthcare, women empowerment and equality of opportunities.

I'm not against developing infrastructure in UP. But developing people need to be the primary focus for resource allocation. When capital is scarce, you need to prioritise.

Niti Aayog has set a goal of $18,000 percapita in 2047. Difficult to achieve but worth having as a goal. Without UP and Bihar developing atleast to a reasonable extent, this goal would be impossible to achieve.

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