India Today is an Indian weekly newsmagazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975.

India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi. Aroon Purie is its editor-in-chief from 1975, a position he has held continuously for the last three decades.

It is part of the India Today group also founded in 1975 and which now includes 13 magazines, 3 radio stations, 4 TV channels, 1 newspaper, a classical music label (Music Today), book publishing and India's only book club.

With the publication of its 30th Anniversary issue in December 2005, the magazine which had commenced publication in 1975 with a circulation of 5000 copies, currently has five editions and a circulation of over half a million copies with a readership of over 20 million. (Wikipedia.org)

REFORMS PAY APATHY DRAGS
By Shankkar Aiyar

The sixth State of States Report reveals that reforms pay and inaction sinks the state. The rankings reflect the reality that it is sustained reforms not free sops that deliver long lasting growth.

Every inch of India is ruled by the states and the Centre as famously described by N.T. Rama Rao “is a conceptual myth”. And how well are the states ruled? The quick cynical response would be, poorly. The India Story of 9 per cent GDP growth notwithstanding, large tracts of the country reflect apathy. The worst five states, which account for 373 million or a third of the 1,100 million population, do not score more than 1.5 on a scale of 10 in six of the eight parameters.

It is no secret that two-thirds of India is dependent on the rural economy and 55 per cent of the populace on agriculture. But barring the war-horse Punjab and Puducherry among the smaller states, not a single state scores more than 4. Bihar, not surprisingly, is locked at number 20 among the big states, scoring less than one out of 10 in seven of the parameters.

The theory is that growth in emerging economies is driven by education, health care, investment in agriculture, good governance and investment in infrastructure.

And, it is on these parameters that states are doing the worst. Take governance, which is purely about upholding the rule of law and ensuring peace. The scores show that 18 of the 20 big states and eight of the 10 small states do abysmally. On health care, 16 of the big states and five of the small states do just as badly. In many ways the disaggregated picture of the rankings reflect the apathy that rules states. Poor legacy could have been an excuse for states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh some years back, but not anymore. Clearly, there has been little attempt to address the basics. How can Bihar defend the stark reality that only three out of 10 births in the state are assisted by medical personnel. ...

View India Today, September 22, 2008

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North Ahead .... 50
A new cluster of states led by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and the old warhorse Punjab is leading the race for investment and consumption.

Inclusive Inflation 52
Since 2006-07, Bharat’s inflation has been far higher than India’s inflation, reinforcing the point that poor in rural India are suffering more.

India in Diversity 56
Numbers once again prove the diversified status of Indian states: 39.9 per cent of Orissa’s people live in poverty while the figure for Punjab is 5.2.

Shackled by Sloth 60
The first-ever ranking of Lok Sabha Constituencies reveals politicians deliver better when located south of the Vindhyas while a combination of slothful politics holds back others.

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From the Editor-in-Chief:

Our annual State of the States survey, now in its sixth year, is as accurate a progress report on governance as any document from the Planning Commission. It is based on a model devised by two of the country’s leading economists supplemented with additional reportage from our state correspondents. Our report essentially tracks a state government’s performance across a range of key parameters like infrastructure, health, agriculture, investment, education and consumer markets covering all 30 states and five Union territories.

In an environment of economic change and new challenges, the 2008 report reflects the reality of economic reforms: imbalanced growth. The rise of Himachal Pradesh, for instance, proves that sustained reform delivers results while Kerala’s slide shows how much of a barrier frequent strikes are to investment. The continuation of Punjab as the best state also indicates that a combination of agriculture and industrial growth delivers prosperity.

Each year the survey looks at a special theme. In previous years we looked at the post-reforms decade, district level development and last year, we reviewed the Government’s claims of inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

This year with elections looming, our package focuses on the state of parliamentary constituencies. We look at the state of VIP constituencies represented by cabinet ministers and chief ministers. Our findings reveal that much depends on the progress made by the state where the Lok Sabha seat is located. MPs from the consistently performing states like Punjab and Kerala derive benefits of good governance and growth.

This also applies to MPs who represent constituencies in major metros. More important, it reveals that electing iconic or powerful MPs does little for the constituency. Barring one, not a single prime ministerial constituency ranks in the top 100 and a majority of the ministerial constituencies rank below the halfway mark.

Taken together, the study of states and the constituencies reveal the true face of India—how fast the country is changing, where it is changing, the leaders and the laggards and the new priorities and challenges confronting our chief ministers. As Managing Editor Shankkar Aiyar, who put together the cover package, says, “Our ratings simply reflect that reforms pay and bureaucratic sloth sinks the state.” Our annual exercise has been an occasion for the states to compare their performance across the board with that of other states. This time our report hits closer to home, in the constituencies that the chief ministers represent. Our findings should come as a revelation to them and we hope, for the sake of their political future and of their constituents, that they heed the message the survey is sending out.

(Aroon Purie)

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