Chennai emerged as the most well to do urban area while Delhi NCR was the least secure for women. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh were two state clusters that were ranked at the top in Tata Strategic Management Group’s 2013 edition of Well Being Index (WBI). Gujarat, southern states and most north-eastern states were ranked as secure for women in TSMG’s Female Security Index (FSI).
Goa, Delhi, Pondicherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were the top 5 states according to the Well Being Index. Others among the top tier were Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Tripura had the lowest ranks. Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa were also featured in the WBI’s bottom tier states.
A total of 10 states were ranked as bottom tier states by TSMG’s Well Being Index. This was an indication that these 10 states had been rated below average across various benchmarks including home amenities, kitchen amenities, education, hygiene, entertainment, communication, transport and healthcare.
A larger implication of Tata Strategic Management Group’s Well Being Index surfaces when the population of the bottom tier states is considered. Effectively the study’s index placed approximately 515 crore Indians or nearly 43% of the entire population of the country in its bottom tier or below average category when it came to basic amenities and needs. It placed only 270 crore or about 22% of the country’s population in its top tier category, according to 2011 census.
Pondicherry, Nagaland, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Manipur were the top 5 states in Tata Strategic Management Group’s Female Security Index which measured a region’s three key benchmarks – Gender ratio in the 0-6 years age group, incidences of rape and dowry deaths. Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Mizoram were also ranked by the index in its top tier category.
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi were the worst ranked states in the FSI. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and Uttaranchal were also classified as bottom tier states when it came to security of women.
The study drilled down to a micro level to identify rankings for its Female Security Index for India’s largest urban cities and clusters. Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad were ranked most secure while Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune were ranked least safest.
According to TSMG’s FSI, Delhi had a poor gender ratio with 866 females per 1000 males. The study estimated that the Delhi NCR region witnessed 581 rapes, more than 13 times the number of rapes witnessed in Chennai. Delhi NCR also witnessed 193 dowry deaths, more than 21 times the number of dowry deaths in Ahmedabad.
Tata Strategic Management Group’s Well Being Index highlighted that there was no relation between its Well Being Index and Female Security Index. “The low ranks on Female security Index even in districts that are highly ranked in well- being index clearly point to the need for cultural and social introspection” said K. Raman of TSMG.
This was evident as clusters like Delhi, Punjab and Haryana featured high on the Well Being Index but were placed in the bottom rung in the Female Security Index. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand were ranked lower than average in both indices. While southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu got a higher than average ranking in both indices.