UNDP Report : India 135th in HDI
UNDP Report: India 135th in HDI
As per the latest UNDP report , India's human development index shows a slight improvement but our nation continues to remain among the median countries in terms of human development. Our nation is just 7 places above Bangladesh according to the 2014 UNDP report released recently. The HDI/Human Development Index is a composite index for measuring income and education as well as health. While education is measured as the average years of education completed by adults and expected years of education for children entering school, health has been measured in terms of life expectancy. Since the year 1990, the UNDP has computed the HDI for every nation in the world and ranked them .
As the HDI value of 0. 586 of a maximum of 1, India is currently rank 135. Its human development index is improving at a slower rate in the 200s as compared to the 1980s but better than the 1990s. As inequality has been factored in, India has lost as much as 30% of its HDI value. India's HDI indicators also differ for men and women. A clear gender disparity has been noticed. While the Gender Development Index for men stood at 0.627, it was just 0. 519 for women. The UNDP also provides a ranking based on multi-dimensional poverty index. India has not compiled health statistics for these were not updated since 2005 for this by India. India also trails behind other BRIC nations on the HDI.
The report also emphasises the need for universal social protection and holds that nations such as South Korea and Ghana have enacted social security legislation at lower levels of per capita income than India is currently at. The report has also calculated that basic social floor or provisions for old age and disability alone with childcare benefits and essential health care along with a 100 day employment scheme would cost less than 4% of India's GDP. Universal schemes are more valuable than targeted ones according to Lise Grande the UNDP Resident Rep for India who spoke to The Hindu. “Evidence from around the world shows that universal delivery mechanisms are the most efficient, pragmatic way of providing social services. Targeting can also be effective, but really only makes sense when there are systems in place that are advanced and performing optimally,” she has been quoted as saying.
The push for universalism by the UNDP applies to jobs as well. The UN organisation is also stressing that nations need to return to the goal of full employment which has been missing from the global agenda since the 1970s . Before the Millennium Development Goals lapse in 2016, the UNDP report indicates that much still needs to be accomplished for eliminating economic crises , global conflicts , social unrest and climate change. India's living standards have yet to see improvement. With successive governments being faced with numerous challenges, the country remains a loser when it comes to basic infrastructure and social welfare. To rank 135 out of 187 countries is not a positive sign. In further bad news for many, the UNDP indicated that India has the lowest HDI value among them in all categories of the HDI with the exception of life expectancy. Among the BRIC nations, Russia secured the highest rank (57) while Brazil was at 79 and China at 91. The report was computed based on data available on November 15 last year. On the Gender Inequality Index or GII, Indian ranked 127 out of 152 which is another dismal rating. With so many problem areas, India faces a lot of obstacles to equitable growth and development.
