Maharashtra's first State Development Report, released on Tuesday by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, says that its success in achieving a high growth rate had been tarnished by its inability to reduce poverty, ignorance and disease. The report, prepared by four academic research institutions, takes note of the State's "persistently high fiscal imbalance" and its poor infrastructure and recommends wide-ranging reforms. Dr. Ahluwalia said independent research institutes were asked to prepare State development reports to obtain a comprehensive analysis of growth constraints. For the country to achieve a growth rate of 8 per cent per annum, better performing States such as Maharashtra would need to achieve an even higher growth rate, he said. But it was poor infrastructure development that was holding the country back from achieving its targeted growth rate. This was one area Governments should concentrate on.