MIZORAM STATE RANKING 2011 REVIEW

MIZORAM STATE RANKING 2011 REVIEW

According to India today State of the States  November 14th  2011  Issue.

2004 - 3

2005 - 4

2006 – 5

2007 – 5 Review

2008- 1 Review

2009- 4Review -( One observation that I have made here is that in last year’s India Today Issue, they had mentioned Mizoram was No.1 among the small states, whereas in this year’s edition it mentions that last year’s ranking was 4^th. I have my own doubts how reliable this ranking is and doubts remain wheather rankings can be manipulated due to some interest.)

2010 –  Visiting USA

2011 – 8 – I still remain sceptical of the India today ranking of the states. The two economist who are doing the ranking Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari say that the format of ranking has been changed. Instead of  showing the actual ranking of state based on development indicators, they say that they are now doing ranking based on Improvement over the past years,  unlike previous years, they would want us to believe the improvements in ranking without showing us thenumbers and source of information for their ranking. The India today ranking of the states seems to me more like a paid news wherein rankings are adjusted based on the whims of the editor.  Let’s look below at Mizoram’s ranking compared to the previous years, Mizoram has never been ranked lower- 8^th among the small states. 

2011 –  MIZORAM AGRICULTURE – 1^st

The Ranking for Agriculture was 6^th in 2004,8^th in 2005, 6^th in 2006 and 8^th in 2007 ,7^th in 2008, 1^st in 2011

Mizoram has drastically improved in Agriculture, this could be due to the Dynamic & experienced leadership of the Agriculture Minister- H Liansailova, a former bureaucrat who know the state government system well. Due to his good work, he has also been given additional charge of the Finance Ministry. Due credit must be given to the Agricultural department who has a Director who has done his Phd on research of rice cultivation in Mizoram. The New Land Use Policy of eradicating jhum is making some progress with the 1 lakh amount paid in trenches and training given to farmers. As 70%  of people in Mizoram are farmers, stress is being given to NLUP, the flagship program for agricultural growth with inputs from Academics from University, Central government and others.

New LandUse Policy Mizoram Website

Mizoram Agriculture Website

MIZORAM PRIMARY HEALTH – 3^rd

The Ranking for Health in Mizoram for 2004 and 2005 was 1^st but 6^th in 2006 and 5^th in 2007 & 2008 , 3^rd in 2009, 1^st in 2011

Mizoram Health Department Website

The health Ministry has progressed a lot under the present Health Minister, unlike the previous MNF ministry who used ADB bank loan for a private sector Insurance (Bajaj Allianz)  for people of Mizoram, instead the present government has utilized the Rashtriya SwasthyaBima Yojna (RSBY) scheme for BPL and asked the people above poverty line to pay a subsidised premium which makes much better fiscal sense than the previous MNFgovernment. It must also be noted that so far there has been no allegations of corruption against the present Health Minister Lalrinliana Sailo unlike the previous Health Minister under MNF government.

As stated in the Magazine, Malaria deaths are down from 119 to 31 in 2010, a lot of Doctors (including my friends) have been posted in rural areas, efforts are being made to improve infrastructure in Falkawn referral hospital and shift majority offunctioning of Civil hospital in Dawrpui(centre of city) to the suburb in Falkawn Referral Hospital area,  Hospital’s with nursing college are being built in Champhai  and other districts, however a Medical college still eludes the state of Mizoram.

MIZORAM INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT – 10^th

The ranking for Investmentin 2004 was 1^st, 3^rd in 2005, 7^th in 2006 and 6^th in 2007, 1^st in 2008,  8^th in 2009, 10^th in 2011

First of all, it’s a bit funny that Mizoram was ranked first in 2008 and now in 2011, it has been ranked last among the small states.

Even though Mizoram has no major private sector investment, it must be noted that compared to previous years, major investments have taken place due to the look east policy as well as state government intiatives like:
1.Kolodyne Multi Modal Transport Transit Project estimated at Rs 545 crores- more details of the project by Rochamliana can be read  by clicking here
2. Kolodyne 460-MW  hydel power Project worth 2500 crore under progress by National Thermal Power according to the Hindu.
3. Tuirial 60 MW Hydel project worth 913 crore is also under progress at Economic times.
4. Lawngtlai Sittwe Highway spanning 99.82km between Lawngtlai town in south Mizoram to Sittwe port worth 600 crore according to the telegraph.
5. Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Mualpui budgetted at  Rs  132.78 crores according to The Zozam times
6. National Institute of Technology campus planned at Thenzawl-  Rs 250 crores sanctioned by Times of India.
7. The Aizawl Thenzawl Lunglei world banking funded road which reduced distance from Aizawl, state capital to Lunglei from 235 to 154 km costing Rs 534 crores according to Eastern Panorama.
8. Railway line of 51 km from Bairabi to Sairang that will consist of 204 bridges, 24 tunnels and four stations is also under progress and is estimated to cost 2384 crores according to Vanglaini & CNN IBN.

Mizoram Investment Promotion Website


MIZORAM PRIMARY EDUCATION – 7^th

From 2004 -2006 Mizoram has consistently ranked 2^nd but in 2007 it has ranked first, but has gone down to 2^nd in 2008, the ranking has further reduced to 3^rd  in 2009 and now 7^th in overall rankings.

 Mizoram now tops Literacy level in the whole country with 82.9% literacy, 83 per cent of children over 10 years of age have completed their education. Progress has been made in elementary education with a different system of education with deemphasise rote learning among elementary school schildren.

But sadly enough there’s very bad scope for good higher technical quality education in Mizoram at higher level's as it does not even have a Dental or Medical College in the whole state.

On a brighter note, NIT (National Institute of Technology) and IIMC ( Indian Institute of Mass Communication) have been  started in Mizoram Mizoram University is also making good progress but needs to start new departments like Medical science, Architecture & Law departments which can be further utilized within the state.

Mizoram School Education Website

Mizoram Government Press Release on Mizoram being First in Primary Education

MIZORAM INFRASTRUCTURE – 3^rd

In terms of Infrastructure, Mizoram has consistently ranked 4^th from 2004 till 2008, from 2009 it’s ranking has been 3^rd position.

Infrastructure projects leave a lot to be desired in Mizoram, specially roads as the road conditions are very bad, some people allege that road conditions are not in a good condition due to the fact that the state government is placing to much financial resources on the flagship NLUP Program and diverting money needed for road construction for Agricultural purposes.

Nevertheless, infrastructure is being built across the state due to the Central’s Look east policy, the plan to link Sittwe in Myanmar to Kolodyne river, the Bairabi- Sairang railway construction, the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium and Tuirial Hydel project, the Kolodyne Hydel Project & NIT construction  are the major infrastructural project in the state at present.

Mizoram Rural Development Website - Mizorural
Mizoram Urban Development Website

MIZORAM CONSUMER MARKET - 9^TH

Again a consistent 5^th from 2004 till 2008 , it’s ranking has climbed to 4^th in 2009 and in 2011 is 9^th . Basically a parameter for measuring Per capita ownership of TV, 2 wheeler. Telephone. On the whole, per capita ownership of consumer material is high in Mizoram. According to Times of India  89% of the Mizoram population is believed to have mobile telephones. The Consumer market ranking has come down to 9^th but compared to previous years, the consumer market seems to be going up – various retail outlets like addidas, Nike, Reebok, Sony, Nikon and Samsung have set up their own retail outlets. Private Banks  like HDFC have been setting up branches even in district head quarters like Saiha, Lunglei and Champhai. ICICI, Canara bank, IDBI, Axis, Punjab national bank and many others have been setting up branches in Mizoram. The vehicles in Aizawl city are also filled with the latest Chevrolet beat and I 10’s so it’s a bit hard to understand the recent dip in ranking.

MIZORAM LAW AND ORDER – 2^nd

2^nd Consistently from 2004 to 2006 but has fallen to 4th had gone up to 1^st in 2008, again 2^nd in 2009 and 10^th in 2011.

The India today ranking is more of a joke, Mizoram a state which was ranked 1^st in 2008 is 10^th in 2011, unbelievable, let me illustrate, there was a kidnapping in 2008 where it was alleged that ransom money was paid, this year the Mizoram police did commendable job in that they caught up with the kidnappers and rescued the hostage but then you could say the ranking is based on improvement, but I still find it hard to digest that Manipur is 1^st among the small states in law and order with a road blockade running now for more than 100 days due to the Sadar hill district agitation by kuki people, which is protested by the Naga People.   having been to Manipur, I can confidently say that the cops are not in control, especially in the hill areas inhabited by the Naga like Ukhurl and in the Kuki dominated hill district. Manipur also has a very high rate of corruption and you can buy almost anything- driving licence, high school leaving certificates etc,so I have difficulty in believing that Manipur has the most improved Law and Order among the small states.

Home Department Website

Mizoram Police Department Website 

MACRO ECONOMY - 8^TH

A very consistent ranking of 5^th from 2004 till 2007 had gone up to 4^th in 2008, the ranking comes down to 5^th again 2009 and further down to 8^th in 2011 – basically measuring urbanization and GDP of state. I cannot comment  how they have come down to a ranking of 8^th as they have not shown the database and parameters for selection.