Is post-reform growth of India egalitarian?: an interstate analysis

India of 21^st century is concerned about inclusiveness of economic growth as, despite her emergence as the economic powerhouse, the effects have not trickled down to all the sections of population. India's present situation has made her the second most unequal country in the world after South Africa. Egalitarian economic growth requires that we do not miss woods for trees. This paper has focused on the extent of inequality in gross state domestic product (GSDP) across India. The inequality in income was estimated for 31 states and union territories using the coefficient of Gini from 1993–94 to 2015–16. Lorenz curve was used to plot the inequality. It was found that western zone of India consisting of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana have contributed the highest in the GSDP compared to other zones of India. The coefficient of Gini expressing inequality was lowest for the Andaman and Nicobar islands i.e., 0.58 and was highest for Sikkim (0.77). The governments should focus not only on achieving higher growth but also must target making growth equitable.