West Bengal Human Development Report 2004

Report Cover The West Bengal Human Development Report (HDR) brings out a mixed picture of the current state of human development in West Bengal, with some important successes and also some areas of inadequate achievement, as well as certain emerging problems. The West Bengal HDR analyses two major public initiatives, which have characterised the State for the last 26 years, i.e. land reforms and decentralisation and has examined their effects on human development. Further, it attempts to understand the reasons as to why the positive effects of these initiatives have not been more pronounced on human development attainments. In addition to the “traditional” issues covered in a human development report such as health, education and livelihoods, and the chapters on land reforms and decentralisation, the West Bengal HDR analyses issues such as human security, material conditions, environment and problems of special regions within the State.