Editorial 1 : Part and Whole
Context: How the South outpaced North India
State of States in India’s Growth Story
- A new working paper from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has examined the change in the states driving India’s growth story in last 60 years or so.
- Uttar Pradesh (UP): In 1960-61, UP contributed 14.4% to India’s GDP. By 1990-91, it had fallen to 12.6%, and in the years after its bifurcation it has declined even further.
- West Bengal (WB): WB has seen its share fall from 10.5% to 5.6% over the period.
- Its per capita income, once higher than the national average, is now lower than it.
- Punjab: Punjab’s economy had benefited from the Green Revolution. Its relative per capita income rose from 119.6% of the national average in 1960-61 to 169% in 1970-71. It has slumped thereafter.
- Its share in the GDP has fallen from 4.4% in 1970-71 to 2.4% in 2023-24.
Post 1991
- After the 1991 reforms, the southern states have seized the opportunities that opened up and emerged as leading performers.
- In 2023-24, the five southern states accounted for roughly 30% of India’s GDP.
- The western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra have also fared well during the period.
- These regions have a significant presence in the manufacturing and services sectors.
- IT sector is largely concentrated in the southern region.
- These states also account for a fairly large share of factories in India as per the Annual Survey of Industries.
- Most of the major exporting districts are located in the southern and western states.
Share in Taxes
- As the southern states have powered ahead, they have seen their share in the divisible tax pool fall — from 21.1% during the award period of the 11th Finance Commission (2000 to 2005) to 15.8% during the period of the 15th Finance Commission (2021-26).
- In lower income states like UP, Bihar and West Bengal, transfers from the Centre account for a significant share of revenue receipts.
- The dwindling share of the southern states in tax revenue has emerged as a major faultline in Centre-state relations in recent years.
Concerns of the Southern States
- Distribution of fiscal resources.
- Structural changes in the Lok Sabha following the delimitation exercise could see them ending up with a relatively narrower share of seats.
Way Forward: The challenges need to be addressed by wise and far-sighted politics. At stake is the poise and healthy functioning of the federal system.
Editorial 2 : Two Years of Cheetah
Context: Two years of Cheetah reintroduction in Kuno National Park
Reintroduction of Cheetah
- Cheetahs were declared extinct from India in the early 1950s, but were reintroduced in 2022.
- Two years after African cheetahs were introduced in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, the country now has at least 24 cheetahs.
- The population in Kuno could herald the revival of the species in the country.
Current Situation
- Project Cheetah is still in its early days.
- Many glitches will need to be ironed out and lessons of the past two years put to good use before the project can be called a success.
- Kuno’s last free-ranging cheetah, 7-year-old Pawan, reportedly drowned in mysterious circumstances in August — the eighth adult animal, brought from Africa, to die since the project commenced.
- Today, the cheetahs live in acclimatising enclosures.
- They are free-ranging predators and the test of their survival is in the wild.
- Creating a self-sustaining population will require weaning away a significant number from protective care.
Basic concerns and issues
- India was home to Asiatic cheetahs, and not the African subspecies that were introduced in 2022.
- A Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the incident was disbanded in less than a day, testifying the persistent lack of transparency around Project Cheetah.
- National Tiger Conservation Agency (NTCA), the project’s nodal body, has shifted the goalpost in the past two years.
- Project Cheetah’s original goal was to establish a free-ranging breeding population of cheetahs in and around Kuno.
- It has been diluted to managing a metapopulation through assisted dispersal.
- Authorities are not giving adequate respect to expert opinion.
- NTCA’s reluctance to take on board the views of the South African and Namibian scientists behind the translocation.
- Forest department is under-prepared to deal with the ways of the African cheetahs.
Way Forward: In the coming months, Project Cheetah plans to move beyond Kuno to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. NTCA and authorities need to act on the suggestions of the wildlife experts and scientists to make Project Cheetah a successful endeavour.