Fifth largest country

    I am referring to Uttar Pradesh of course. It is larger than Brazil, with nearly 200 million people(20 Crore). If it were an independent country it would be the fifth largest country by population in the world. Nearly one in every six Indians is from Uttar Pradesh.

    The state does not compare favorably with the more progressive regions on most development indicators. When pitched amongst the much maligned BIMARU states , it still stands out rather poorly.It has the second lowest per-capita GDP in the country.

Source

   Third highest infant mortality among the bigger states. That number is second highest among the BIMARU states.

Source

    Fertility rate, an indicator of population growth is the second highest among all the states in the country. As a consequence,the state will see rapid growth in population for the foreseeable future.

Source

    It is in this context that optimists are hoping there would be a change in direction. After the recent elections which brought Akhilesh Yadav to the chief minister's job, industry leaders are hoping for a fresh start under the new administration. He should follow the example of Nitish Kumar from neighboring Bihar who has made much progress in improving conditions in his state.

   India cannot move forward with a sixth of it's people languishing in abject,unrelenting poverty. It will take a long time to turn things around in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh Yadav has no time to waste.