In this paper an attempt has been made to provide a comparative picture of inter-district disparities in socio-economic development in Punjab. It is based on secondary data collected from different reliable sources. In order to measure the inter-district disparities in socioeconomic development, four sectors- agriculture, industry, human resources and infrastructure have been taken into account and thirty two indicators have been identified under these sectors for the period 2009–10. District-wise composite indices for these four sectors have been formed separately by using first principal component for the given time period. District-wise aggregate indices have also been calculated to detect the level of development in totality. Empirical analysis has been divided into four sections. Firstly, the indicators of development and their loading values have been discussed. District-wise composite and aggregate index values and ranking of the districts in three categories according to their level of development have been done in second section. In third section, proportion and density of population in districts under different levels of development has been discussed. In the fourth and last section graphs have been presented for each sector for twenty districts for the year 2009–10.
According to the aggregate levels of development four districts are identified as highly developed districts, ten districts have been identified as medium developed districts and the remaining six districts have been identified as low developed districts. Again, comparatively higher density of population has been found in highly developed districts and low density of population has been found in low developed districts. In the concluding section, suggestions have been given to tackle this grave concern of regional imbalances.
Population, Agriculture, Industry
