India's West Bengal state and a pioneering social activist from Bangladesh will receive the Human Development Awards, instituted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on Dec 15 in New York City.
 
"West Bengal, India Report 2004: Land Reform and Decentralisation" will receive the Excellence in Quality of Analysis Award. Ashok Gupta, chief secretary of
West Bengal, will receive the award.

Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh will receive the 2004 Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development.

The report on West Bengal documents how far-reaching land reform has led to a dramatic expansion of agricultural output and how members of the lowest caste in Hindu society now have their own land to till for the first time.

The report also hails a sweeping experiment with decentralisation, in which mobilisation and local elections have brought the poorest and most marginalized people into the decision making process of the nation. Land reform has yielded a dramatic expansion in agricultural output, making West Bengal the most agriculturally dynamic state in India over the last two decades.

The report was completed in May this year and professor Jayati Ghosh of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is a lead author.

Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh is being recognised for his extraordinary achievements in helping the rural poor to combat hunger, disease and literacy.

Abed was selected for his achievements in helping some of the most destitute people in his country. He is the founder of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) that has worked in the health care sector.

BRAC made a significant contribution to Bangladesh achieving the fastest decline in infant mortality rates in Asia. Its educational efforts have helped Bangladesh increase primary schooling from 55 percent to 85 percent within two decades.

Abed, a former Shell Oil executive, founded BRAC in 1972 to assist refugees returning from India after Bangladesh's liberation war. He expanded the organisation to provide services to people affected by extreme poverty, discrimination and exploitation. BRAC, now the world's largest non-governmental organisation, is recognised internationally for these pioneering efforts.

BRAC provides care to some 30 million people, almost a quarter of Bangladesh's population, and works with destitute women, disbursing over $2 billion. It has helped provide food assistance and savings and credit services to nearly a million participants.

West Bengal and Abed are among seven winners of the UNDP awards this year.