Peculiarities of Inter-regional Variations in Gender and Human Development in India

Abstract

Inter-regional inequality is a persistent feature of India’s development trajectory, but it becomes especially consequential when viewed through the joint lens of gender and human development. This review synthesises scholarship on subnational variation in human development outcomes and the gendered processes that shape, reproduce, and sometimes disrupt those patterns. A systematic literature review was conducted across Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed (January 2006 to February 2026) using specific search strings combining terms for spatial inequality, human development, and gender constructs. Peer-reviewed articles with empirical analysis of Indian subnational data or theoretical work on gendered human development were included, while descriptive pieces and single-site studies were excluded. Bringing together work on district- and small-area measurement, spatial inequality, and gendered capabilities, the review argues that India’s “development geography” is best understood as a multi-scalar system in which state-level gradients (often described as North–South, core–periphery, and coastal–interior) coexist with large within-state disparities and micro-geographies of deprivation. Evidence from district and small-area studies demonstrates that averages can conceal substantial heterogeneity in maternal and child health coverage, child undernutrition, vaccination, and women’s work participation. The review further shows that gender is not merely an “outcome domain” but a central mechanism linking institutions, norms, and public policy to human development: kinship and patriarchy regimes influence girls’ education and women’s agency; gendered labour market structures constrain economic capability formation; and gendered exposure to violence and bargaining constraints shape health and nutrition. The article concludes by proposing an integrative framework for research and policy that treats gender equality and human development as mutually reinforcing, emphasises scale-sensitive measurement, and prioritises geographically targeted interventions that are attentive to within-district and within-state clustering.