The Best Districts

The north and central districts have done better in most parameters

- Rahul Noronha

The India today State of the State (SOTS) survey, started in 2003, analyses the performance of districts in each state over a period of time and across 10 parameters—education, health, agriculture, industry, services, infrastructure, water and sanitation, law and order, prosperity and overall development. Each parameter is a composite index of key variables, measurable across time, provided comparable data is available.

EDUCATION Best district: Kanker

Kanker tops among 18 districts in terms of classroom-student ratio and teacher-pupil ratio for elementary education. It stands third for availability of schools per 1,000 population. The 60.6 percent literacy rate matches the state average at 60.2 percent. In terms of female literacy ratio of girls to boys, the district is among the top eight in the state.

Most improved district: Bastar

The tribal district improved 13 percentage points (31.6 in 2001 to 44.3 percent in 2011) in female literacy rate. In classroom-student ratio, Bastar moved from 9th to 5th place in the same period. In enrolment ratio of girls, the district moved from 12th to 5th place.

HEALTH

Best district: Dhamtari

The district fared well on full immunisation of children aged 12 to 24 months, use of contraceptives among women and availability of options for institutional delivery by women. Dhamtari also topped in terms of use of modern contraceptives (70 percent), and was second in terms of immunisation coverage for children between the ages of 12 and 23 (88 percent) as well as in institutional delivery for women in the age group 15-49 (83 percent).

Most improved district: Bilaspur