I am extremely happy to note that this year, India Today State of the States Conclave has decided to keep agriculture at the top of its agenda. The topic, "Second Green Revolution: What the States Need to Do", is extremely appropriate though I would modify it slightly to read "Second Green Revolution: What the Nation Needs to Do".

It has become an annual confluence of ideas and ideology, a high-powered forum where Union ministers, chief ministers and those in charge of key ministries in strategic states meet to debate the hot-button issues of the day as well as discover the true state of their states.

If statistics are any indicator of India's economic health,we are a country of stunning diversity.

Only 5 in 30 states have an urban population of over 50 per cent. These are Delhi, Puducherry, Goa, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu.

Democracy," Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, "is the art and science of mobilising the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all."

Sikkim is a small state with big dreams. It has set a target to become a poverty free, illiteracy-free, disease-free, zerounemployment state by 2015. The challenges are tough and the target date is just a few years away. But the state Government is optimistic.

If you want to rank states, there are two broad roads to follow. First, you can administer questionnaires and respondents' reply to specific questions. However, this route presumes that respondents know about all the states you wish to rank. Typically, that doesn't happen. Respondents know about states they operate in (or are located in). Second, you can use objective data.

If you want to rank states, there are two broad roads to follow. First, you can administer questionnaires and respondents' reply to specific questions. However, this route presumes that respondents know about all the states you wish to rank. Typically, that doesn't happen. Respondents know about states they operate in (or are located in). Second, you can use objective data.

For most of us, Goa stands for fun and frolic, but there is a lot more to India's smallest state than its tropical beaches and casinos. While a coastline of almost 30 km helps the state attract over 2.5 million tourists a year, the state also has thriving industrial and mining activities.

Goa has utilised its tourism potential and resource base.

For a state that walked the path of development and industrialisation far later than its neighbouring states, Himachal Pradesh has done fairly well and has set high standards for itself for the future. "It's been a tough terrain," says Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. "We have progressed inch by inch, rock by rock."

Education has a primary focus in the state.

Around a decade ago, the national capital was known for its pollution and chaos on roads. The rapid growth of unauthorised colonies had made matters worse. Over 50 per cent of power was lost to theft in transmission and distribution. The public transport system was more of a bane than a boon. Today, however, things are different.