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Why do you want to compare the Kerala model of development with the Gujarat model of development?
"Kerala Model" in our book is a metaphor for a primarily redistribution and statedriven development while "Gujarat Model" is the metaphor for a primarily growth and private-entrepreneurship driven development. As such the Kerala Model vs. Gujarat Model debate is a longstanding one. We show in our book, "India's Tryst with Destiny," that it is ultimately the Gujarat Model that has delivered in Kerala. Contrary to common claims, Kerala has been a rapidly growing state in the post-Independence era, which is the reason it ranks fourth among the larger states, according to per-capita gross state domestic product and first according to per-capita expenditure.
It also suffers from the highest level of inequality among the larger states. So growth, and not redistribution, largely explains low levels of poverty. In health, Kerala's per-capita private expenditures are nearly eight times its percapita public expenditures. In education, excluding two or three tiny northeastern states, at 53%, rural Kerala has by far the highest proportion of students between ages 7 and 16 in private schools. The nearest rival, rural Haryana, has 40% of these students in private schools.
