Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission,Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has urged the government to focus on developing backward regions within districts. Ahluwalia said the governments development efforts,which have often addressed backward districts,should also focus on blocks that lag behind the rest of the country in terms of socioeconomic indicators. We have tried to develop backward districts. We should target backward blocks, Ahluwalia told a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conference. He raised concern over levels of inequality within states taking Maharashtras Vidarbha region as an example. His comments came after the UNDPs Indian office released its annual report,which said elected representatives should be given more funds and responsibilities to improve local governance. The report said Central and state governments needed to target social schemes accurately and ensure better access to target groups as part of their efforts to reduce poverty. At 2 per cent of gross domestic points,India spends more than China and Brazil in safety nets but lags both in most social indicators.
