Sikkim, India’s second-smallest state by area (7,096 sq km), is defined by its Himalayan geography, with elevations ranging from 280 metres to 8,586 metres. The state’s population stood at approximately 6.8 lakh in 2021, up from 6.1 lakh in the 2011 Census. Urbanisation has risen sharply, from 11.1% in 2001 to 25.1% in 2011, with growth concentrated around Gangtok and along main roads at higher elevations.
Despite being endowed with about 40% of India's mineral wealth, including large deposits of coal, iron ore, copper, bauxite and uranium, Jharkhand has failed to build a diversified manufacturing economy; this is partly because of the state's past reliance on mineral extraction, combined with the lack of industrial infrastructure, qualified workforce, connectivity and investment in non-resource based industries. It continues to rely on mining and primary processing since its creation in 2000. This was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic; the construction, mining, tourism, automobile and light/heavy engineering sectors are among the state's main sectors that were hit hard, as well as the disruption of supply chains and a decrease in exports. In this background, the Government of Jharkhand has notified the Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (JIIPP) 2021 through Extraordinary Gazette on 13 July 2021 and Chief Minister Hemant Soren formally launched the same during an Investors' Meet in New Delhi in August 2021.
Rajasthan, with geographical area of 3,42,239 sq km as largest state and 7.9 crore population as seventh most populous, is characterised by sixty percent Thar desert, scattered habitations, low population density in western districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, tribal concentration in southern districts of Udaipur, Banswara, Dungarpur and Pratapgarh, and high incidence of drought and groundwater stress. These structural features make effective welfare delivery central to state development strategy.
The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) was launched on 6th February 2013, at Palghar in Maharashtra under the National Rural Health Mission, with the aim of identifying health problems in children at an early stage (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, 2013). Its approach was built around the “4 Ds”:
defects at birth, diseases, deficiencies and developmental delays, including disability, with an initial target of screening more than 27 crore children between 0 and 18 years of age (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, 2013).
India's security environment has grown more complex, with threats now surfacing across land, maritime, air, cyber and space domains at the same time. This has raised the importance of jointness and integration among the Army, Navy and Air Force. The three Services have traditionally run largely separate operational structures, coordinating through higher-level mechanisms rather than a unified command.
India’s development depends not only on policies made at the national level but also on how effectively each State and Union Territory (UT) plans and works towards its own development. Every State has different strengths, challenges and priorities. Keeping this in mind, NITI Aayog introduced the State Support Mission to strengthen coordination between the Centre and States/UTs. The Mission aims to help States identify their strengths, set clear development priorities and prepare practical roadmaps for achieving their socio-economic objectives by 2047, while remaining aligned with national priorities.
Bihar holds a distinction that no state wants. Despite a decline from 3.4 in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 3.0 in NFHS-5 (2019-21), Bihar still records the highest Total Fertility Rate among all major states in India. The national average has reached 2.0, the replacement level. All other medium and large states in India, those with a population above one crore, now have a TFR below the replacement level of 2.1. Bihar stands alone.