2024 · GS Paper 1 · Q17 · 15 marks
What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India?
In short
Regional disparity is the gap in income and human development between and within regions, a difference of level the State must reduce, unlike diversity, a difference of kind it protects. NITI Aayog found 33.76% of Bihar's people multidimensionally poor in 2019-21 against 0.55% in Kerala.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 305 words
Meaning
Regional disparity is the gap in income, infrastructure and human development between and within states, such as Vidarbha against western Maharashtra.
Kind versus level
Diversity, like the 22 Eighth Schedule languages, is protected; disparity is a gap the State must reduce.
Interaction
Disparity turns diversity into grievance, as the Telangana movement (statehood 2014) showed.
Economic concentration
An EAC-PM paper (2024) found the five southern states produced about 30% of GDP in 2023-24, while West Bengal's share fell from 10.5% (1960-61) to 5.6%.
Human development
SRS 2020 put infant mortality at 43 per 1,000 live births in Madhya Pradesh against 6 in Kerala, and NFHS-5 recorded fertility of about 3.0 in Bihar.
Migration and federal strain
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lead inter-state out-migration (Census 2011), and southern states fear delimitation will penalise their success.
Targeted convergence
Scale up the Aspirational Districts (2018) and Blocks (2023) programmes.
Balanced transfers
Let the 16th Finance Commission (2026-31) weigh equity against performance so that poorer states gain without penalising better-governed ones.
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This chapter in the exam
Regionalism4 questions
Asked in 4 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2020Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness ? Argue.
- 2016What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2024 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.