Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi and Sheila Dikshit. Narendra Modi and Sheila Dikshit.

From a farmer in a remote village of the state to a businessman in the heart of the capital Ahmedabad, development has reached all corners of Gujarat. Focusing equally on all sectors is the reason behind the state's current 10 per cent growth, the only one to boast of double digit growth in both industry and agriculture.Two schemes played a key role in spurring development in the last five years-the Rs 18,000-crorefor development of 42 tribaland the Rs 11,000-crorefor coastal inhabitants, particularly fishermen, in 38. Both schemes were launched in 2007 and completed in 2011. Before 2007, education facilities in tribal areas didn't include science schools, as the government initially sought to provide education only in agriculture to the tribals.In 2010-2011, Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a fresh round of schemes to help farmers and people living below the poverty line. One such scheme is the, to upgrade civic infrastructure for the poor in 150 municipalities. As Gujarat's Planning Secretary V.N. Maira puts it: "The key reason for the government's good performance is the emphasis on results against money spent." The government is now focusing on strengthening urban infrastructure.In the past two years the Government has sanctioned Rs 3,000 crore for urban development. But agriculture still remains a priority for the government. Eight lakh hectares of farmland in Gujarat has come under drip and sprinkler irrigation, compared to 10,000 hectares a decade ago. Tushar Shah, director of Colombo-based International Water Management Institute, did a comparative study of the agricultural growth of Saurashtra region in Gujarat and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in 2012. Two decades ago, the two regions were on a par in agriculture. Today, Saurashtra is doing three times better than Vidarbha. "In agriculture, Gujarat has set a great example of a sustainable growth that emphasised agricultural research, and took scientific farming to the farmers," says Shah.The government has restructured the distribution of aid to those living below the poverty line through thestarted in 2009. Ministers and senior bureaucrats hand over the benefits directly to the poor, thus cutting out the middleman. It's no wonder then that Gujarat leads in development.