To achieve the level of economic development that can raise the quality
of life of all Indians, especially the poor, the nation must average at least 7–
8 percent annual growth during the next decade.3 Attaining such desired
levels of growth requires the Indian government, at the national and state
levels, to provide the infrastructural, health, and educational resources necessary
to improve the capacities of the 25 percent of Indians who remain impoverished.
Indian states with programs that effectively promote literacy
and health care, especially for women, reportedly experience higher rates of
economic growth. States with higher-quality rural roads, irrigation, and
other infrastructure also have higher rates of per capita GDP. Unfortunately,
according to Ravallion, no state in India has developed good rural infrastructure
and human resource programs.4 Few challenges, therefore, are as
important to India’s power potential as rural development.