How come even neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Maldives are doing better than India?
For a whole variety of reasons—some having to do with pressures from below via movements, others relating to policy changes induced entirely from above—Sri Lanka and Maldives have paid more attention to education and health. Even East Asia has left South Asia quite behind? What are the lessons for South Asia? East Asian countries have certainly left South Asian countries behind—both on income and human development measures. With the exception of Kerala, Maldives and Sri Lanka, South Asian ruling elites have paid remarkably inadequate attention to education and health. Lessons: Pay more attention! How that can be done remains a terribly important question on which we need to think more creatively. So, what is the prescription for India to climb fast on development indicators? Greater public allocations for primary and secondary education and health. These are not areas that will attract a huge amount of private investment; the government will have to play a bigger and more committed rol
