Poll-bound Assam trails in health and education indicators

With Assam set to vote on April 9, for its 126-member Assembly, in a contest between the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, an indicators-based analysis reveals that the State lags behind others in India in key areas such as health, education, and human development.

Assam’s Human Development Index (HDI) stood at 0.699 in 2023, below the national average of 0.732, placing it 24th among 29 States. The gap with top-performing States remains wide, with Goa and Kerala recording HDI values above 0.86. Economic indicators show a similar trend. The State ranked 18th in per capita net domestic product, with an average of ₹1.59 lakh, significantly lower than the national average of ₹2.05 lakh. However, with an average daily wage of ₹384, the State’s average rural wage level is closer to the national average of ₹398 (Table 1).