Goa gets wealthier but citizens’ health plummets

Shocking failures in Goa were highlighted by the Healthy States, Progressive India report released by Niti Aayog, with technical assistance provided by the World Bank. When it comes to the narrow definition of economic performance, India’s smallest state ranked a distant first in terms of per capita net state domestic product (

NSDP

). But that does not translate to good governance, or the health and well-being of the average citizen. In these categories, Goa lagged far behind much poorer states, including the northeast triumvirate of Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya.


The new report is just the latest useful contribution by the National Institution for Transforming India (thus NITI) since its establishment in 2015, with an express mandate “to better serve the needs and aspirations of the people of India” than its predecessor, the 1950-established Planning Commission. There is much to be learned from a situation where “health outcomes of some states are comparable to that of some upper middle-income countries and high income countries (for example, neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in Kerala is similar to that of Brazil or Argentina), while some other states have health outcomes similar to that in the poorest countries in the world (for example,

NMR

in Odisha is close to that of Sierra Leone)”.

What kind of state gets visibly richer, even while the welfare of its citizens plummets amid decline of the overall quality of life? Much the same is true of almost all of urban India, which functions as the main engine of “the world’s fastest growing big economy”.

One reason Goa fares so poorly is incompetence, and wildly misplaced priorities. No state in India squanders so many advantages, and performs so poorly in areas that directly affect every citizen. The government will regularly fire through thousands of crores on infrastructure projects that no one wants or needs, while conspicuously neglecting to improve simple healthcare, water and transportation systems.

There are some complicating factors in Goa, such as the rapid demographic displacement that is skewing the population towards an overwhelming majority of new migrants from distressed states. But it should be noted the exact same set of circumstances prevails in neighbouring states which are doing much better in facing them. Karnataka and Maharashtra both surged ahead in the Health Index scores, with the latter leapfrogging three places ahead in the standings. Meanwhile, the number one spot in the country is comfortably retained by Kerala.

The Niti Aayog health index is incontrovertible, and resistant to political spin. It demonstrates that tiny and highly-privileged Goa has wasted every opportunity to institute well-conceived progressive measures. Future generations will never forgive this abject dereliction of duty, where immense wealth fails to translate to any appreciable kind of health at all.

The views expressed are personal.


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