Growing Regional Disparity in Uttar Pradesh:Inter-District Analysis

This paper analyses inter-district disparity in Uttar Pradesh in three crosssection period 1990-1991, 2000-2001 and 2010-2011. It uses five sectors for measuring disparity, i.e., agriculture, industry, services, education and health and 46 sub-indicators which explain economic and social development in the state at district level. On the basis of composite index, it has identified the backward or disadvantaged regions across the state. The result of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggests that inter-district disparity has declined over the period and there is a sign of convergence. The empirical findings show that law and order, share of non-farm income and health development are the indicators which have influenced the level of development. It is time to take appropriate steps to bridge the gap between core and periphery regions.