The state of Orissa, albeit its beauty, serenity, natural and cultural wealth, is one of the most economically disadvantaged states in India. Income poverty in Orissa is 12 times that of the best performing Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which stands at 4%. Poverty level in Sikkim stands at 36% with Bihar, MP and Assam coming in before the last place finish for Orissa at 47%.

PM Vajpayee, on July 15, 2003, said that Orissa had only 270 hospitals as against 2,100 in Kerala. "While Kerala had one hospital bed for every 330 people, Orissa had one per 3,000.'' While Karnataka had 30 medical colleges and Maharashtra had 36, Orissa had only three. Orissa, considered a backward state along with UP, MP, Bihar, and Rajasthan, has the worst infant and maternity mortality rates and malnutrition. The proportion of women undernourished is highest in Orissa (48%, according to Mr. Padam Singh, ICMR). Women who are undernourished are more likely to have children who are under-nourished. Orissa is one of the poorest states with the second lowest per capita income after Bihar (East India Human Development Report, 2004). Orissa is also one of the low literacy states, ranking 13th among the sixteen major states in the country. Less than 64% of the population has been enumerated as literates in the 2001 census. It is also one of the least urbanized states in India. The infrastructure, higher education, access to health facilities, and family income areas in South-West Orissa are yet more deplorable.

The Indian Govt.'s per capita development expenditure in the Northeast was Rs 4,622, almost double of the all-India average of Rs 2,645. In constrast, Bihar and Orissa, the two poorest states of the union, had only Rs 1,211 and Rs 2,101 per capita, respectively, as development expenditure. Moreover, it’s estimated that the central Human Resources spending per head in Karnataka is Rs. 25 versus Rs. 4 in Orissa and Bihar.

Based on a study by Dr. Sarvalingam and Dr. M. Sivakmar of the Department of Economics, Chikkaih Naicker College, Erode, Tamil Nadu, the Deprivation Index(DI) is calculated for all the states/territories as follows: DI = 1/3 (PL) +1/3 (IR) + 1/3 (IMR), where the poverty line PL (year 1999-2000), illiteracy rate IR (2001) and infant mortality rate IMR (2001) numbers come from recently published data. This is tabulated below with the respective state ranks.

STATEWISE HUMAN DEPRIVATION INDEX: Orissa’s rank, culminating from a decades-long trend, is the worst.

Sl.No	States/UT	Poverty line	Illiteracy 2001	IMR 2001	Deprivation Index	Rank
1	AndhraPradesh	15.77	38.89	66	40.21	9
2	ArunachalPradesh	33.47	45.26	44	40.89	7
3	Assam	36.09	35.72	78	49.93	5
4	Bihar	42.60	52.47	67	54.02	3
5	Goa	4.40	17.68	36	19.35	27
6	Gujrat	14.07	33.57	64	37.21	12
7	Haryana	8.74	31.41	69	36.38	16
8	HimachalPradesh	7.63	24.09	64	31.90	18
9	Jummu&Kashmir	3.48	45.54	45	31.34	19
10	Karnataka	20.04	32.96	58	36.99	13
11	Kerala	12.72	9.08	16	12.59	30
12	MadhyaPradesh	37.43	35.92	97	56.77	2
13	Maharastra	25.02	28.73	49	34.24	17
14	Manipur	28.54	31.13	25	28.21	21
15	Meghalaya	33.87	36.69	52	40.85	8
16	Mizoram	19.47	11.51	23	17.98	29
17	Nagaland	32.67	32.89	N/A	N/A	N/A
18	Orissa	47.15	36.39	98	60.50	1
19	Punjab	6.16	30.05	54	30.06	20
20	Rajasthan	15.28	38.97	83	45.74	6
21	Sikkim	36.55	30.32	52	39.61	10
22	Tamilnadu	21.12	26.58	53	23.54	23
23	Tripura	34.44	29.36	49	36.59	15
24	UttarPradesh	31.15	42.64	85	52.92	4
25	WestBengal	27.02	30.78	53	36.92	14
26	Andaman&Nicobar	20.99	18.81	30	23.06	24
27	Chandigarh	5.75	18.24	32	18.65	28
28	Dadra&NagarHaveli	17.14	39.97	61	39.36	11
29	Daman&Diu	4.44	18.91	N/A	N/A	N/A
30	Delhi	8.23	18.18	51	25.80	22
31	Lakshadeep	15.60	12.48	30	19.36	26
32	Pondicherry	21.67	18.51	21	20.39	25
33	India	26.10	34.80	71	43.96

Source : 1. National Human Development report 2001. India

2. Based on NHDR 2001 literacy rate

3. Economic and political report 2003, May. 10.

While India may be “shining”, I abhor to see my state at the bottoms of the performance lists. But that is a fact. In a post-industrial, knowledge society, higher-education and sane and sustainable regional planning hold the greatest promise for socio-economic progress, balanced and longterm growth, and national unity. Today’s market economy transforms a large nation such as India into a true microcosm of the globe: each region/state must compete and fend for itself much like a country within a union -- except that a lot of fiduciary, regulatory control and power is concentrated with the Central Government. Thus, equity and thoughtful government strategies are ever so important. All, especially, the state and the central government planners, the educationists, and the civil-society, must take prudent actions and make longterm investments NOW. People of the state must stake claim for what’s due to them, but not stop there; what’s greatly fruitful and fundamental is their own persistent, quiet and resolute endeavor to transform for the better: equitability, sustainability and excellence.

Priyadarsan Patra, March 9, 2006

myseeds.home.comcast.net

Some sources for additional references:

http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/537/537%20k.p.%20kannan.htm

http://orissadiary.com/orissa_education/orissa_education.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/orissapolitics/pashimaodishavikash.htm

http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/portal/criminal-neglect

http://www.undp.org.in/Programme/undpini/factsheet/Orissa.pdf

http://orissagov.nic.in/