INCLUSIVE GROWTH

India is a developing country. In terms of indicators of development such as per capita income, literacy, life expectancy, level of urbanization and per capita energy consumption, it is far behind the developed countries. According to UNDP's Human Development Index, among 182 countries of the world included in the study India stands at 134^th position. UNDP's Human Development Report 2009 has divided 182 countries into four categories: very high human development (1-38), high human development (39-83), medium human development (84-158), and low human development (159-182). India with 134^th position falls in the medium human development category (UNDP, 2009). According to the Planning Commision however, the Indian economy has had an impressive record of growth in the Tenth Plan period.

These positive factors notwithstanding, a major weakness in the economy is that the growth is not perceived as being sufficiently inclusive for many groups, especially Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and minorities. Gender inequality also remains a pervasive problem and some of the structural changes taking place have an adverse effect on women. The lack of inclusiveness is borne by data on several dimensions of performance (Planning Commission, 2008).

In this backdrop the Eleventh Five Year Plan has came up with the paradigm of inclusive growth. This is a pattern of growth in which all social groups, i.e., SCs, STs, OBCs and others are equal beneficiaries (as well as the minorities, women, rural areas, backward regions, street children, drug addicts, disabled, and old people).