arunachal pradesh government

Arunachal pradesh human development index

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Arunachal pradesh human development index:-

Human development an integral part of economic development is fastly catching of various stakeholders around the world. It is also about people’s active engagement in shaping development, equity and sustainability, intrinsic aspects of freedom of people have to lead lives they have reason to value. Human development index is a tool devised by United Nations for ranking countries for measuring levels of social and economic development measuring life expectancy, education , literacy and standard of living.

The concept of human development emerged in the late 1980s based on the conceptual foundation provided by Dr. AmartyaSen and Dr. MahbubulHaq. The human development approach puts people at the centre of the development agenda, where economic growth and wealth are considered means to development, not an end by itself. Basically, human development is concerned with the advancing the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the economy in which human beings live. The starting point for the human development approach is the idea that the purpose of development is to improve human lives by not only enhancing income but also expanding the range of things that a person can be and can do, such as be healthy and well nourished, be knowledgeable, and to participate in community life. Seen from this viewpoint, development is about removing the obstacles to what a person can do in life, obstacles such as lack of income, illiteracy, ill health, lack of access to resources, or lack of civil and political freedoms.

There are scores of economic and social indicators which have been used to measure different aspects of socio-economic progress. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index developed to measure the average achievement in basic dimensions of human development. These basic dimensions, as defined by UNDP3 are – a long and health life, knowledge and decent standard of living. While there exists a general consensus on these core dimensions, there could be slight variations in the choice of indicators depending upon the focus and also on availability of feasibility data.

State Profile:-

Till 1972, Arunachal Pradesh was known as the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA). It gained the Union Territory status on January 20, 1972 and renamed as Arunachal Pradesh. On February 20, 1987, it became a full-fledged state. Its capital is located in Itanagar in the Papumpare district. Itanagar is named after Ita fort meaning fort of bricks, built in the 14th century AD.Arunachal pradesh human development index

Arunachal Pradesh constitutes 2.55 per cent of India’s total geographical area and 31.94 per cent of that of the Northeast. The State is divided into five river valleys: the Kameng, the Subansiri, the Siang, the Lohit and the Tirap. Part of the Eastern Himalayan ranges, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the most picturesque tourist destinations in India.

Human development trends in Arunachal Pradesh:-

  • The State of Arunachal Pradesh is significantly rich in mineral resources, oil and natural gas. The State is also rich in forest products such as bamboo, cane and timber. But in human development index state has been poor performance.
  • The per capita Gross Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2004-05 for the State stands at Rupees 21,919 and the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) in 1999-2000 is Rupees 14338. Arunachal Pradesh ranks 29 th in the human resource development index and 30th in the poverty index in India, as per the Human Development Report 2001.
  • In 2001 the literacy rate of Arunachal was only 55 percent. Although there has been a remarkable growth of education and health facilities in the state, the performance of the state in the area of human development has come in for a great deal of criticism, as there are considerable interdistrict variations in the levels of services and performance.

Arunachal Pradesh as per Human development report 2005:-

·         The faculty of the Rajiv Gandhi University at Itanagar prepared the report, sponsored by the Planning Commission, for the Arunachal Pradesh government.

 

·         More than a quarter of the population of Arunachal Pradesh will not live beyond 40 years of age.

·         The report shows that 28 per cent of the people are not expected to survive beyond the age of 40, as compared to 16.7 per cent at the national level.

·         It points out that the hilly and steep terrain, inaccessibility and scattered habitations result in poor access to medical facilities and consequently to poor health status.

·         Not surprisingly, districts located at high altitudes or less accessible areas record more premature deaths. In KurungKumey, East Kameng and Dibang Valley (New), more than 40 per cent of the population are not expected to survive beyond the age of 40.

·         In contrast, the well-connected districts, particularly those in the plains, have substantially higher rates of life expectancy. For example, in Papum Pare, a district with good connectivity and access to healthcare facilities, only around 23 per cent of the people are not expected to live beyond 40 years of age.

·         The report noted with surprise that ‘in the cases of premature deaths, variables such as medical facilities or the distance of the village from the health centres, doctor-population ratio and hospital beds per 1,000 people, did not have any significant bearing on premature deaths’.

·         This suggests that the creation of medical facilities alone is not sufficient: awareness, willingness and road connectivity are the more important variables in improving the health status of the population.

·         It also revealed that there was a high degree of inter-district variation in life expectancy among the 15 of the total 16 districts of the state surveyed.

·         Though the people of Arunachal Pradesh strive to remain healthy by following appropriate diets and maintaining regulated lifestyles, their health status is not commendable when measured by conventional indicators, in absolute terms and in comparison with other states and regions.

·         The report said in the past few decades, the state has made significant progress in moving from an absence of hospitals, dispensaries and diagnostic facilities to a relatively wide network of healthcare facilities.

·         However, the increase in health coverage and services has been at a slower pace than the expansion of educational facilities and the growth of the economy.

·         Fortunately, Arunachal Pradesh is relatively free from the problem of discrimination against girl children that many other states in the country face. While the people of Arunachal do have some preference for sons, it is not as deep-rooted as in other regions.

·         This is partly responsible for the relatively better infant mortality rate here than in many other parts of the country. Arunachal Pradesh has an infant mortality rate of 77 per 1,000 live births. Among the 15 big states, Orissa has the highest such rate at 95.