The Hindu : Front Page : Delhiites doubly well off than average Indian

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Sunday, Mar 23, 2008
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Delhiites doubly well off than average Indian

Staff Reporter

Economic Survey forDelhi 2007-08 presents a ‘wealthy’ picture of the Capital

Per capita income in Delhi was Rs.66,728 during 2006-07 as compared to Rs.29,672 at the national level
The number of schools went up from 3,703 in 1991-92 to 5,063 in 2005-06

NEW DELHI: An average person in Delhi continues to be twice as well off as an average citizen of the country according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2007-08 presented in the Delhi Assembly by Finance Minister A. K. Walia.

Delhi’s per capita income is more than double the national income. While the per capita income in Delhi was Rs.66,728 at current prices during 2006-07, at the national level it was Rs.29,672 for the same period.

The survey also mentioned that Delhi’s Gross State Domestic Product that stood at Rs.101,800 crore during 2005-06 had reached Rs.118,240 crore in 2006-07, an increase of 16.1 per cent at current prices and 12 per cent at constant prices.

The economic well-being of the people is also reflected in the number of vehicles on the city roads. Stating that 33.86 per cent of the total Plan outlay for the 11th Five Year Plan has been allocated to transport, the survey mentions that car density in Delhi is over 10 times the national average of eight cars per 1,000 people.

Also, Delhi had 1,922.32 km of road length per 100 square km of area in 2001 as against the national average of 74.73 km per 100 sq km. As such, 20 per cent of Delhi had actually become road space.

Incidentally, of the total funds allocated for Delhi, 51 per cent had been spent on infrastructure and 34 per cent on the social sector. But despite a fair amount of spending on the social sector, the survey has revealed that the sex ratio in Delhi was more skewed than across the country. As per the 2001 Census, the female population of Delhi was 45.08 per cent of the total population whereas at the national level women constituted 48.26 per cent of the total population.

And while girls usually outperform boys in all examinations, the literacy rate of women in Delhi was 74.71 per cent only in 2001 compared to 87.33 per cent for the men. At the national level, the literacy rate of women was 53.6 per cent then.

According to the survey, the number of schools in Delhi went up from 3,703 in 1991-92 to 5,063 in 2005-06 and student enrolment increased from 19.01 lakh to 34.30 lakh during the same period. Correspondingly, Delhi’s literacy rate went up from 75 per cent in 1991 to 82 per cent in 2001 while at the national level the increase in the same period was from 52 per cent to 65 per cent.

A reason for the better enrolment and literacy rate in Delhi has also been higher per capita expenditure on education. The spending on education per person during 2006-07 was Rs.1,244 compared to Rs. 857 at the national level.

Likewise, on health, the per capita expenditure in Delhi was Rs.685 in 2006-07 compared to Rs.260 at the national level. During 2006, the number of beds in Delhi’s hospitals increased to 33,278 taking the bed-population ratio to 2.04. Also, the number of dispensaries in Delhi has increased from 653 in 1991 to 1,022 in 2006.

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