The United States Of Inequality

India's south is richer and better developed than its north. But incomes are unevenly spread in either half. Urban decay and misogyny are just as common in both

- RATHIN ROY

Nadu is over three times Bihar's, but the average daily wages for men in agriculture are not even double that in UP and Bihar. This signals an extractive economy where the bulk of the rise in prosperity is being skimmed by the already-rich.

This is despite the fact that supposedly high manufacturing wages contribute 21 percent to TN's GDP, as opposed to 11 percent in UP. The situation is better in Kerala but the same or worse in the other peninsular states. Economic transformation has not led to an inclusive increase in prosperity.

As a result, the peninsular states suffer sharp within-state inequalities. Consider the following information from TN's submission to the current finance commission. The average difference in the PCI of a district in TN from the average income of the state is ₹85,000, compared to just ₹15,000 in Bihar. The PCI of the poorest district is 25 percent that of the richest. Dharmapuri district in TN has a literacy rate worse than 36 districts of UP, which is three times as poor. Over 60 percent of Telangana and Karnataka's PCI is earned in just 3-4 districts of these states.