The Problem of Regional Disparities: An Overview in Indian Context

Abstract

The contemporary world is growing rapidly in the field of urbanization, liberalization, globalisation and modernization, but on the other hand, all this development has emerged a worldwide phenomenon regarding regional disparity. Regional disparity is a common fact in both developing and developed economies. Across India's different regions and states, development and growth has not been distributed fairly and has given rise to the threat of regional inequality. In India, each of 28 states has its own disparities regarding socio-economic indicators with other states; among them few states e.g. Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, etc. have already attained rapid economic development Whereas, other regions or states e.g. Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, etc. have attained less development. India is a diverse nation with a massive population disparity in social and economic development, employment, and infrastructure facilities across the regions and within regions that have been a major challenge to policymakers and economists. Main objective of the study is to understand the concept of regional imbalances. The paper highlights the causes and consequences of disparities in inter-regions, inter-state and intra-regions in India. The paper describes also the measurements implemented by Indian policy makers in India to reduce the problem. The paper reveals suggestions to reduce the disparities in Indian context.