Change is inevitable; it is truly the only constant. Often change is hard to detect, particularly in amorphous domains such as governance and development. Be assured though that India is changing, even if at a glacial pace. The Seventh India Today State of the States Report reveals that the gravity of growth is shifting to emerging geographies, even if gradually. Leaders are sliding, new challengers have come up, and laggards signal a desperate situation. Top ranker Punjab has been maintaining its top slot in consumption since 2003 Punjab may have emerged as the best among big states for the seventh year in a row but it is no longer invincible. Himachal Pradesh is pushing the envelope of development and growth and could well be the best state next year. Just one parameter, Macro Economy- essentially how it manages its budget-shows the bipartisan commitment of the state to manage resources for growth. If it didn't make it to the top this year, it is primarily because of its geography and its inability to restructure its agriculture. The best news though is from the North-east where Sikkim and Mizoram are wrestling for honours in education and health while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are the emerging success stories. The story of challenge and muscling in for better ranking is the happy end of the story. Then there is the disappointing decline of Kerala, a sad commentary on the politics of the state. Despite remittances, it is losing out as a consumer market and Himachal has ousted it from its pedestal of the nation's best educationist. Yet, it is one of the better governed states. The sad commentary on the politics and administration of the country is at the bottom of the pyramid. Of the 110 crore populace, 62 crore live in states that are at the bottom of the pile. Six of the most populous states are languishing at the bottom 10 of the rankings. Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh ranged at the bottom three are home to a third of the country's population. Yes, rankings are about comparative performances but what is shocking is that despite special intervention schemes the worst three languish. Bihar is at the bottom of the table in six of eight categories, and even in agriculture where it has natural advantages it is in the bottom five. What is tragic is that there is no shake-up even amongst the "disadvantaged". Bihar and Jharkhand have been static for five years and Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have been swapping places at 17 and 18. Legacy is admittedly a disadvantage the Bimaru states suffer from but there seem to be no effort to seek intervention of available Central schemes. Analysis of data shows that the states are the worst performers in spending allocations available for rural doles, primary education and rural connectivity. India lives in the states and just as every inch of India is ruled by the states, every decimal of GDP growth comes from the states. Unless the Centre and these states engineer a common programme to lift these economies, the shadow of poverty will continue to haunt India and thwart its tryst with destiny. AGRICULTURE Agriculture in a state is better if value added is high on a per capita (rural) basis, if yields of foodgrain production are high, and if the net irrigated area forms a large proportion of the net sown area. Increasingly, cash crops are becoming more and more important in many states and their impact is captured by also including the percentage of cultivated area under cash crops. Electricity consumption for agriculture on a per capita (rural) basis is one measure of usage of new technologies, and overall credit to farmers reflects how progressive farmers are able to use improved inputs as well as better handle their liquidity constraints. PRIMARY HEALTH Good health in a state is captured by the infant mortality rate, the percentage of births assisted by trained personnel as that also impacts maternal health, and registered doctors on a per capita basis. Access to water is critical for good hygiene which has a direct impact on health outcomes, and this is captured by the proportion of households with access to tap water. Removal of biases against women as well as the girl child is critical and this is captured by the sex-ratio (females per male) as well as the girl-boy infant mortality ratio. Many health problems are due to poor practices, and greater government expenditure also reflects the importance paid to health issues. Therefore per capita expenditure on health and family welfare by the state government is also included. INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT A state where both the government and the private sector entities invest has a better investment environment. Moreover, lower levels of sickness, better labour climate and the availability of skilled manpower are critical elements. Consequently, we include Government capital expenditure on a per capita basis, per capita commercial bank credit and gross capital formation in the manufacturing sector (both private and public sector entities) on a per capita basis. The inverse of sick ssis as a share of total ssis reflects conditions of smaller units in the state. Industrial disputes per industrial unit captures the labour relations climate; and the number of industrial workers as a share of urban working age population captures the availability of a base which can be further built upon.