Assessment of Socioeconomic Development of the Aspirational District in Central India: A Methodological Comparison

Abstract

This study examines the Washim district’s socioeconomic growth to determine the criteria for district development. This study found that the Washim district comes under the rural area, where the child sex ratio is inferior. Even in some villages, it has zero value. In some regions where the Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) population is more, the child sex ratio is less. Out of six sub-districts, four sub-districts have a low literacy rate (less than 75%). The mean literacy rate is found as 81.7%, and its standard deviation is evaluated as 7.0. In the region where the literacy rate is higher, people are less busy with farming, and hence the percentage of the cultivator is less and vice versa. In the region where SC and ST population is more, the percentage of Household Industry (HHI) worker is higher and vice versa. Out of 698 inhabited villages, 692 villages are electrified in the district, with 99.1% of towns having installed power supply. The use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/piped natural gas (PNG) is minimal in the Washim district. In the region where firewood availability is accessible and adequate, the use of LPG/PNG is found to be less than its average value.