Dev 360: As you develop, so shall you reap

Amid all the talk about arithmetic and chemistry in the wake of the Bihar Assembly election results, there is one powerful message that leaps out — development pays. And there is a corollary to this message — that when it comes to development, one size does not fit all. Development models that appeal to one group of people may not appeal to another. What is appropriate for a rich country is not always appropriate for a developing country, and vice versa. Similarly, what works in Gujarat or Haryana may not have the same impact in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. That does not mean that Gujarat or other affluent states have nothing to offer. But it does mean that development has to be always tailored to the local context and local needs.

It is not just the development model. It is also the messaging. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Digital India” message resonates in vast swaths of the country, but in a state that has been plagued by acute power shortages and where millions of homes have had to go without electricity, Nitish Kumar’s push for rural electrification turned out to be an electoral trump card as commentators who have travelled through Bihar in recent times have pointed out.

Arguably, in the Indian context, development alone does not guarantee success. Nor can anyone say that Bihar supremo Mr Kumar has solved all the problems in his state. Bihar has miles to go. It has much to do and much to learn from other states.

But on basics like rural electrification, what Bihar has achieved is no mean feat. In 2012, Bihar had around 4,000 non-electrified villages. In March 2015, India as a whole had more than 18,000 villages without electricity. Out of these, 2,719 were in Bihar alone. The only state in a worse situation was Orissa. And remember, government figures say a village has electricity if even one house in the village has it.

But since March, Bihar has had a major turnaround. The pace of rural electrification accelerated and the state provided electricity connections to 1,427 additional villages. The push was planned meticulously. As a start, all villages supposedly connected to the power grid were surveyed and poles and transformers repaired. Payments to contractors were streamlined and government engineers met them regularly to sort out whatever problems there may be. This worked as a big accelerator. Then 24x7 helplines were set up for anybody with an electricity supply problem.

Perhaps equally important — as columnist Swaminathan Aiyar noted after travelling through Bihar — the state government also managed to reduce power cuts drastically. According to the Bihar government, in November 2005, the average availability of power in the state was six to eight hours a day in urban areas and two to three hours in villages. Now, the government claims, it has gone up to 22-24 hours in urban areas and 15-16 hours in villages. Mr Kumar’s development model also prioritises basic education, especially for girls. Bihar has invested money in equipping schoolchildren with uniforms, bicycles and scholarships, as also earthquake-resistant classrooms. Since 2007-08, the Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojna has helped some 40 lakh girls studying in Class 9 to purchase bicycles. Since 2011-12, 57 lakh girls studying from Class 9 to Class 12 have been provided monetary help for purchasing school uniforms under the Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojna.

When Mr Kumar came to power 10 years ago, his first task was to improve law and order. That and the help the state government has provided to girls in high school have clearly paid dividends. Women outnumbered men in the polling booths this time. Arguably, that and the fast pace of rural electrification had a lot to do with the state election results. In the run-up to the Bihar elections, we witnessed hugely acrimonious debates on development models. Which one was better? Which one was worse? In his campaign meetings, Mr Kumar lashed out against the Gujarat model of development. “We do not require the Gujarat model where women are not getting adequate food,” he said, slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had earlier served as chief minister of that state for three terms.

Mr Modi, in his turn, plumped strongly for the Gujarat model and warned voters that the Nitish-Lalu-Congress alliance would bring back “Jungle Raj”.

The election is now over and it is time to bury the hatchet. Every state can learn from others as there are lessons in every development model. Bihar’s example shows that in relatively backward states, a push for rural electrification, education and girls’ empowerment work politically. But these are not necessarily as critical in the better-off states.

For example, Assam — which is heading for elections in the not too distant future — is investing in basic infrastructure in a big way. It has had a 17 per cent increase in the length of pucca roads from 2011-12 to 2013-14, against the national average of four per cent. Assam has also made progress in other areas — agriculture, education, health. The polls will show if this has had any effect.

The Gujarat model has its flaws, especially in the social sector, but it offers lessons that others can emulate, especially in the area of infrastructure and ease of doing business. It is true that Gujarat has deep roots in commerce but it is richer, enjoys faster GDP growth and a greater intensity of jobs and industry than India as a whole because it has better infrastructure and it is easier to do business there.

Then there are other models, like Tamil Nadu, which has won praise from around the world for its low-cost, good quality public healthcare system. One key component is Tamil Nadu’s efficient drug procurement mechanism. That offers lessons on how to fix glitches in the national healthcare system. As the Bihar election results came out, most political analysts concentrated on caste equations. But the results have shown something more. In the language of economists, it has shown that working the caste equations is necessary but not sufficient. Voters across the caste spectrum now expect development suited to their immediate needs.

The writer focuses on development issues in India and emerging economies. She can be reached at patralekha.chatterjee@gmail.com