The Other Side of Development-Maharashtra s Backward Regions

Maharashtra's Backward Regions H M Desarda BY common conventional and commercial yardsticks of economic growth Maharashtra is an economically and industrially 'advanced' state of the Indian union. The per capita income is one and half times the all- India average and double that of Kerala and triple that of Bihar; per capita electricity use is twice the Indian average; the proportion of urban population in Maharashtra is 38 per cent whereas that of India is 26 per cent. If we take consumer durables like cars, two- wheelers, colour TVs, washing machines, air-conditioners, telephones, faxes and services of public and private airplanes, five star schools, hospitals and hotels, it is way above the Indian average.