Growth of Income Inequality and its Trend in North Eastern States of India

Gopal Kumar Sarma

Abstract: One of the greatest challenges in the development of Indian economy is widening regional income inequality. Since its independence, Indian states have experienced different degree and pace of economic growth, where some states are forerunner in terms of economic growth and some others languishing behind. North East India as a backward region of the country has also experienced a varied growth during the planning era. Although the average growth of GSDP of the region is below the national average, it has shown sign of improvement in the post-reform period. Based on the secondary information collated from reports of National Sample Survey Organization, Central Statistical Organization, and Reserve Bank of India, the paper examines the trend and growth of inter-state income inequality of eight state economies of the North Eastern region of India.

Keywords: northeast India, income inequality, convergence, kernel density function, generalized entropy