Growth performance has been equally varied, with the slowest growth in state per capita income in Bihar, at -0.2 per cent per year during 1992-98, compared with the fastest growth in Gujarat, at 7.8 per cent per year.
The differential performance across states has begun to raise important policy questions within India.
To what extent are the differences a manifestation of global economic forces acting upon India, especially during a period of economic liberalisation, and to what extent do they reflect differences in economic policies at the state and union level?
Will market reforms tend to make the rich states richer in relative terms, with the poor states lagging ever farther behind, or will market reforms lead to economic convergence across states?
Specifically, are the poorest states (especially the so-called BIMARU states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) condemned to fall further behind the front-runners, at least in relative terms? rediff.com/money/2002/feb/26spec.htm
