Atish,
I spoke more about growth rates. I am sure you will agree that it is easy to lead an already growing state like Gujarat than a poor state like Bihar but read this:
Bihar beats Gujarat, Maharashtra with 21.9% growth in 11th Plan
I know that growth can not be compared as it depends on size of GDP but I am sure 22% growth in a state which is known for backwardness is even more hard to achieve and the article I have shared looks at 5 year plan, not just YoY.
NEW DELHI: Bihar has been the top performer among the major states in terms of economic growth during the 11th Five Year Plan which ended on March 31, 2012.
According to a Planning Commission report on state finances, only Sikkim and Goa, which are much smaller in size than Bihar, have performed better than the state.
In case of major states, Haryana clocked the GSDP growth rate of 19.5 per cent followed by Rajasthan at 18 per cent, Kerala at 16.9 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 16.8 per cent, Andhra Pradesh at 16.7 per cent and West Bengal at 16.4 per cent.
During the 11th Plan, Gujarat grew at 16 per cent followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh at 15.3 per cent each.
If you look at it, a lot of states are ahead but Bihar stands out for obvious reasons.
Ahem Ahem,
Since Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Gujarat is approx 2.35 times than that of Bihar.
(Bihar 217,814, Gujarat 513,173 link
http://planningcommission.nic.in/data/datatable/0904/tab_104.pdf)
Hence, it obvious that on incremental % terms Bihar will look faring better, As Atish has already explained.
But to further make you understand, lemme give a try.
Example: There are two students, comparing their improvement in Maths subject over a year. (and not 5 Yrs)
Desi Jat (is Bihar), Satinder (is Gujarat)
Desi jat has scored 40 out 100 in 1st year. Satinder has scored 80 out of 100 in the first year.
(I'm taking twice and not 2.35 times)
Next year
Desi Jat shows 21.9 % improvement, and Satinder shows 16% improvement.
Now the score becomes 48.76 for Desi and 92.8 for Satinder.
Though Desi jat has performed better in % terms, but still very distant from Satinder in absolute terms. Hence we can't say Desi has beaten Satinder.
(In other words: Desi's growth of 21.9% can be matched by Satinder by a performance improvement of 10.95, But to match Satinder's growth of 16%, Desi will have to show a strong growth of 32%, and more than 37.5% or greater growth if i had taken 2.35 into account)
