The shocking truth is that there are more people living in poverty in eight states of India than in the poorest 26 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (421 million people in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal compared to 410 million across the poorest countries of Africa).*
The recent economic growth in India is unfortunately not yet impacting majority of the country’s population. To help understand India and its inequality, the UK agency DFID** has segmented India into three: Global India (20%), Developing India (42%) and Poorest India (38%). If we consider that ‘developing India', which is close to half the population of the country, is still living on less that $2 a day, the issues are put into perspective. It helps us to justify the acute need for development support, despite India’s shining economic growth and progress.
The huge inequality of access to services between people who are urban or rural, male or female, and the discrimination against tribal and scheduled castes remains a major hurdle for development. The statistics are staggering with 33% of the world’s poor living in India and 25% of the world’s birth-related deaths. 48% of children suffering from malnutrition; 128 million people not having access to safe water and seven million children not enrolled in school.
*Oxford University, World Health Organization, DFID, Indian Government’s Planning Commission and Water Aid
** Department for International Development (DFID). www.dfid.gov.uk
Making the Grade focuses on how the quality of education in public schools can be improved by strengthening the
public private partnership between non-profits and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
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November 3, 2011: Many Indian businesses are embracing models that not only generate a social return but also reap profits. Deval Sanghavi, CEO, Dasra explains more on creating shared value and the role of NGOs, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Read more >
