The bottom five slots in the ranking are occupied by Assam and the BIMARU states. Of these, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have got credible growth rates of 80 per cent and 87 per cent, both of which are within striking range of the overall average growth of 93 per cent. Uttar Pradesh has done poorly in the last five years, but it managed a growth of 64 per cent.

It is interesting to note that the states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, all of which are breakaways from BIMARU states, appear to be faring better than the BIMARU states themselves. While BIMARU states are a problem, the number of people who are living in BIMARU states is much lower than it was before these three new states were created.

The worst situation is found in Rajasthan and Bihar. Rajasthan got growth of 10 per cent and Bihar got growth of 3 per cent. Rajasthan now has investment of Rs 5,304 per capita and Bihar is at Rs 2,911 per capita — both of which are vastly below the national average of Rs18,901 per capita.

The writer is senior fellow, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi