Inclusive Development and Persisting Challenges: Mapping the South Indian Story

Abstract

The South Indian pattern of development is receiving much attention in the recent
times not just for its achievements in development indicators, but also for the politics,
displayed by the region until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This study examines
the development trajectories of five South Indian states, namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It compares the selected socio-economic
indicators to assess how far the case of South Indian model of inclusive development
can be accepted. These states give us the demonstration of the back-and-forth
linkages of human development and economic growth. It also looks at the persisting
challenges faced by these states in its development trajectories. Another common
challenge faced by the South Indian states is regarding the centre -state fiscal
transfers which have a punitive impact on better performing states. This paper is
based on secondary data, namely the NITI Aayog reports, National Family Health
Survey 2019–2021 and RBI’s Handbook of Statistics on Indian states