Question

Which of the following states are known as “Bimaru” states?
A.Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
B.Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan
C.Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, West Bengal
D.Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand

Answer 1

Hint: “Bimaru” is an acronym formed from the first letters of the names of several states of India which share certain similarities. It was coined in the mid-1980s by Ashish Bose. The term “Bimaru” has a similarity to the Hindi word "bimar," which means "sick."

Complete answer: Bimaru is an acronym formed from the first letters of the names of India's states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Ashish Bose analysed a variety of demographic measures to conclude that these states, home to 40 percent of the population of the country, lagged considerably behind the southern states and contributed much to the explosion of India's population. He also looked at five additional per capita income parameters.

Several reports, including those by the UN, showed that India's GDP growth rate was dragging down the output of the BIMARU states. In 2016, in a paper published in the Economic and Political Weekly, the economist Vinita Sharma recalculated Mr. Bose's indicators, revised for 2011, after adding them to the newly carved states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and Uttarakhand.

It found that, while individual improvement had been made by the States, the BIMARU states had not converged overall with the national average; in fact, half of the 13 indicators had diverged. Ms. Sharma noticed that while none of the states had been able to step out of the grouping, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, among them, displayed a greater degree of progress than Bihar. According to the 2011 census, the literacy rates in these states are Bihar 63.8 percent, Rajasthan 67.1 percent, Jharkhand 67.6 percent, Madhya Pradesh 70.6 percent and Uttar Pradesh 71.7 percent against a 74.04 percent national average.

The correct option is A) Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh

Note: In India, the BIMARU states have some of the highest fertility levels. The overall fertility rate in 2010, compared to 2.5 for India as a whole, was 3.9 for Bihar, 3.5 for Uttar Pradesh, 3.2 for Madhya Pradesh, and 3.1 for Rajasthan. This contributes to significant population growth in these states than in the rest of India.