OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2011. Dr. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India released a book on Regional Economy of India: Growth and Finance last Friday at the Annual Conference of the economists of the Reserve Bank of India. Edited by Shri Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, the book is jointly published by the Reserve Bank of India and the Academic Foundation.

The book covers important research findings of economists working in regional offices of the Reserve Bank of India. Given the divergence in growth potential, financial development and inflation across regions in India, studies on regional economies become particularly relevant. The analysis in the book reveals that -

The share of agriculture has shrunk across the states

the share of services has risen sharply

However, industrial growth remains uneven.

Urban-rural inequality has worsened.

There is, therefore, a need for concerted action on agricultural growth and infrastructure development besides increasing the penetration of formal financial sector to alleviate the constraints on growth and to control inflation.

There is also a need to prioritise expenditure towards social sector to develop the quality of the labour force and promote well-being.

The book is available from Academic Foundation, 4772-73/23, Bharat Ram Road (23, Ansari Road), Darya Ganj, New Delhi-110002, India. E-mail.