Problems of economy of Haryana.

 Q. What are the various problems of economy of Haryana?

Ans. Haryana is one of the most developed state of India. Per capita income of Haryana is very high in comparison to many states in India. But despite this, Haryana economy has some problems which hinder the fast pace of its economic development. Some of the problems of Haryana economy are discussed below:

(1) Excessive Dependence on Agriculture Occupation: Haryana economy is mainly an agrarian economy where still majority of population is engaged in agriculture sector, which hinders the process of economic development. Problem of disguised unemployment is exist in the agriculture sector. It reflects the state of backwardness of agriculture sector in Haryana. Even growth rate of agriculture sector is less in comparison to growth of industry and service sector.

(2) Regional Disparities: In Haryana, some districts are relatively more developed while some other districts are economically backward. Some districts of Haryana, viz.– Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panipat, Sonipat, Karnal are making more contribution to state domestic product. On the other hand, some districts like Mewat, Mahendragarh, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Sirsa are making less contribution to state domestic product. It reflects that some districts of Haryana are forward, while some other districts are backward. 

(3) Weak Infrastructure: Haryana lacks in terms of infrastructure. Infrastructure includes roads, railways, power-generation, dams, irrigation facilities, public-health, etc. Poor Infrastructure creates hindrance in the path of economic development. The districts having good infrastructure like Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panipat, Yamunanagar attract entrepreneurs to set up infustrial units here. But such districts are not much in number. Many districts of Haryana still face problems of power shortage, poor quality roads etc. Haryana state is extremely far from sea port. It hinders its export potential. Weak infrastructural base creates hurdle in the path of faster economic development.

(4) Poor Sex Ratio (Female Ratio): Sex ratio refers to number of females per 1,000 males. Lower sex ratio leads to many social and moral evils. Sex ratio in Haryana is very low in comparison to national average. It reflects negative attitude of Haryana society towards girl child and serious problem of female foeticide. In such imbalanced society, female participation in work-force is less. It hinders the pace of economic development.

(5) Low Standard of Education: In comparison to many other states, the standard of education in Haryana is low. There is lack of professional, technical and vocational education. The quality of education in government run primary educational institutions is not satisfactory. Because of low standard of education, the development of human resources has been slow.

(6) Backward Social Custom: Backward social customs and traditions of society prove big obstacle in the path of economic development. People are trapped in old, outdated customs and conventions in such a way that they do not like to follow scientific and modern notions in place of outdated ideas. To observe social customs, people spend their hard earned money lavishly.  Because of illiteracy and backwardness people have deep faith in fatalism (भाग्यवाद). They consider their poverty is the result of their fate (भाग्य, luck) and they do not make much efforts for its eradication. They have indifferent attitude towards economic progress. So, backward and social customs create hindrance in the path of economic development.

(7) Weak Governance: Due to weak administrative set up, the implementation of economic strategies and plans remains less effective. The delivery system of various services is very weak. The implementation of developmental plans and programmes is ineffective. Due to weak governance, efforts of government do not bring the desired results. Some of the political leaders and government officials are dishonest and corrupt. Because of widespread corruption, scams and leakage of funds in public projects, plans cannot be properly implemented. A very small fraction of funds allocated for poverty alleviation reaches the target group. Corruption poses great challenge in the path of economic development.

(8) Lack of Modern Enterprise: Although in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts, many multinational companies have set up their industrial units/service enterprise but still many districts of Haryana lack in modern enterprise. People lack in entrepreneurial skills. They adopt traditional methods for managing their enterprise. In the lack of modern enterprise, the pace of economic development is hindered. 

(9) Technological Backwardness: Haryana lacks in modern research and development facilities. The level of technology in industry and agriculture is low. Backward technology results in higher capital output ratio and wastage of natural resources of the state. The lack of modern technology has negative effect on industrial and agricultural productivity. Lack of advanced technique also creates hindrance in the path of economic development.

(10) Lack of Natural Resources: Haryana lacks in natural resources like mineral wealth, perennial rivers, proximity to sea, etc. Some districts of Haryana have rocky land and deserts. Some districts of Haryana like Mewat, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani, Hisar, Sirsa share their border with Rajasthan. Some parts of these districts get very less rainfall.

(11) Slow Capital Formation: Capital formation refers to productive investment in the economy. Investment of savings into productive channels results in capital firmation. High rate of capital formation promotes the pace of economic development. In Haryana, rate of capital formation is not very high. People living in rural areas have less saving habits. Even if they save, their savings are not invested in productive channels due to poor banking habits, weak money and capital markets etc. In urban areas, people spend more due to demonstration effect resulting in less savings and thus less capital formation. 

(12) Weak Public Sector Units: Most of the state run PSUs are running into losses. Employees of the public sector units have poor work culture. Further, outdated technology used in the state run PSUs hinders their efficiency. These PSUs are managed by bureaucrats and not by professionals from management field.

In nutshell, there are many economic and non-economic problems in Haryana state which create hindrance in the path of economic development.