DEVELOPMENT of a region or a state is heavily dependent on the over-all development of an individual. Given this fact, a close look at certain Human Resource Development (HRD) indicators of the North-Eastern region brings out not so encouraging picture.

Let us first look at the literacy rates of the eight North-Eastern states. Arunachal Pradesh, with the literacy rate of only 54.74 per cent according to the 2001 census, is much below the national average of 65.38 per cent. This however is a remarkable improvement over the literacy rate  of the State in 1991, which was 41.60 per cent against  the then national average of 52.20.

Similarly, two more states of the North-East are also below the national average in terms of   literacy, — Assam (64.28 per cent) and Meghalaya (63.31). The encouraging aspect is that the five other states of the North-East had registered literacy rates in 2001 which are above the all-India average. These are Mizoram (88.49), Tripura (73.66), Sikkim (69.68), Manipur (68.87) and Nagaland (67.11).

The most encouraging fact is that Mizoram ranks second among all the states of the country behind Kerala (90.92). The rankings of the other states of the North-Eastern region in the all-India list are however not heartening. The status of the other states of the region is : Tripura (12th), Sikkim (16th), Manipur (18th), Nagaland (20th), Assam (22nd), Meghalaya (24th) and Arunachal Pradesh (30th).

Literacy is closely linked to most other Human Development Indicators. Look at the infant mortality rate of the states. The latest Economic Survey of the Government of India reveals that 68 out of every 1000 infants born alive in the country die before they complete one year. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the North-Eastern region varies from a highly encouraging 23 in Mizoram to an alarming 78 in Assam. Manipur with an infant mortality rate of just 25  per 1000 live births, Arunachal Pradesh with 44, Tripura with 49, Meghalaya with 52 and Sikkim also with 52, - all rank above the national average.

Infant mortality rate among female infants is even higher, with the national average standing at 69 as against 67 for male infants, which is slightly better. In Assam on the other hand, the IMR for females was 83 as against 66 for male infants. Likewise, the birth and death rate of the states also present a peculiar picture about the overall development of the human population of the North-East. While the national average birth rate stood at 25.8 per 1000 (according to the last study conducted in 2000), in Assam, the birth rate is pretty high at 26.9. Similarly, while the all-India death rate stood at 8.5 per 1000 persons in 2000, the same for Assam was again high, standing at 9.6. Birth and death rates of the other states of the North-Eastern region, however, have not been mentioned in the Economic Survey published by the Government of India. It is interesting to note that the life expectancy of persons born in India between 2001 and 2006 has been worked out at 65 years and 142 days; women in the country have a better chance of living longer. The latest figures say that an woman born in India today would live up to the age of 66 years and 259 days as against just 63 years and 317 days of a man. Compared to this national average, the figures for Assam, however, are very discouraging. While a woman born in Assam today is expected to live up to 60 years and 317 days, a male born in Assam can expect to live only up to 58 years and 350 days.

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