Gujarat Vs Tamil Nadu

There is nobody more sharp and biting than an ex-friend, as Narendra Modi must have realized when Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa took him to task on the question of development of his state. Modi and BJP have been claiming that Gujarat has shown peerless development that makes it a model worth adopting by the whole country. But Jayalalithaa said Modi needs to check his facts because Tamil Nadu has developed far better on a host of fronts.

Is Jayalalithaa’s claim valid Times Of India did a quick study of some key indicators and found that on most counts Tamil Nadu does perform better. Both are fairly advanced states compared to others, both have an industrial base, both have higher levels of urbanization and both have been ruled by non-Congress parties for a considerable period. So, its not apples and oranges being compared. Tamil Nadu is, of course, much bigger than Gujarat in terms of population.

Ø     The number of people below poverty line is 102 lakh in Gujarat (about 17% of its population) compared to 82 lakh poor in Tamil Nadu (11%).

Ø     Both states had an economic growth rate of about 10% between 2005-06 and 2011-12.

Ø     Employment growth, adjusted to population growth, between 2001 and 2011 was nearly the same in both states.

Ø     Yet, monthly expenditure by households, which is a measure of family incomes, is higher in Tamil Nadu than in Gujarat in both rural and urban areas.

Ø     In rural areas, per person monthly spend is Rs1571 in Tamil Nadu, nearly 10% more than Gujarat’s Rs1430. In urban areas, Tamil Nadu’s per person monthly spend is Rs 2534, about 2.5% more than Gujarat’s Rs 2472.

It is in the health and education sectors that the difference in quality of life really shows up.

Ø     Dropout rates, that is the proportion of students dropping out of school compared to those enrolled at the beginning, are shockingly high in Gujarat at 58% for classes 1 to 10. In Tamil Nadu, it is 26% still high, but less than half of Gujarat.

On two key measures of health of people infant deaths and mothers deaths due to pregnancy complications Tamil Nadu is ahead of Gujarat.

Ø     Maternal mortality ratio is 90 in Tamil Nadu compared to 122 in Gujarat.

Ø     Infant mortality rate is 21 in TN compared to 38 in Gujarat.

Both indicators show the access people have to healthcare system, nutrition, and the treatment of women in families. A slew of indicators from the 2011 Census shows that people in Tamil Nadu have better access to treated tap water, electricity for lighting up homes, and LPG for cooking. But, Gujarat has more households with toilets in the house.

Two other bits of data show different yet equally important aspects of life in the two states. One is safety of women as measured by the number of registered cases of crimes against women.

Ø     Between 2001 and 2012,cases of crimes against women declined by about 28% in Tamil Nadu but increased by 65% in Gujarat. These crimes include rape, assault with intent to rape and cruelty by husband.

Ø     The second is incidents of communal violence. Between 2005 and 2013, Tamil Nadu witnessed 237 such incidents while Gujarat, despite repeated claims of communal amity by Modi, suffered through 479 incidents.