India falls on human development index but there are some positive takeaways as well
India’s human development is not keeping pace with progress. It now stands at the 132nd spot in the list of 191 countries. The dip can be mostly attributed to its life expectancy going down in the Corona period. The drop in the Human Development Index from 0.645 points in 2019 to 0.633 in 2021 is due to the life expectancy falling from 69.7 to 67.2 years. India has thus slipped a notch in the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) 2021-22. HDI is measured on three parameters — a long and healthy life, access to education and a decent standard of living. All these parameters basically define human development of the people of a country or region. Primarily, four indicators are used to calculate it — life expectancy at birth, average schooling years, expected years of schooling and the per capita Gross National Income (GNI). India’s expected schooling years stand at 11.9, while the average years of schooling are 6.7. The Gross National Income per capita level is $6,590. Though the report doesn’t paint a rosy picture of India or make it feel better, the consolation comes from the fact that it isn’t encouraging for most countries, too. India’s decline is in fact in keeping with the global trend.
But there is indeed a silver lining for India. Compared to 2019, the impact of inequality on human development is lower. HDI figures for India indicate that the gender inequality in India is decreasing faster than the world average. It may be a positive fallout effect of India’s investments in inclusive growth policies, thrust on social protection and dedicated efforts like ‘beti bachao beti padhao’ for gender parity. The United Nations report showed that 90% of countries have registered a reduction in their HDI value in 2020 or 2021. HDI is an important indicator as unlike other indicators it gives a clear idea of the growth of people’s wellbeing, their access to health education and income levels. These declined in 2020 and 2021, setting the clock back by five years. The HDI’s negative slope can be attributed to the fall in life expectancy, which fell from 72.8 years in 2019 to 71.4 years in 2021 globally. The countries which had worst showing were from Latin America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. India’s human development index value, however, exceeded other south Asian countries which are still reeling under the impact of COVID-19.