Representative image of labourers.
Credit: Reuters Photo
India has made a slight improvement in its ranking on the latest Human Development Index (HDI), but the report also shows that the country has much more to achieve. It has recorded a three-place rise from its 2022 rank of 133 to 130, out of 193 countries, but the fact remains that India is still in the bottom one-third of the world. According to the Human Development Report, ‘A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI’, India has registered an HDI value increase to 0.685 in 2023 from 0.676 in 2022. Considering that the pandemic years badly set the country back, just as much as the rest of the world, India’s performance is credit-worthy in three areas. These are “a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living”. India’s life expectancy improved from 56.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023. Children’s tenure in school increased from 8.2 years to 13 years and the per capita income from $2,167.22 to $9046.76 during the period. Initiatives such as MGNREGS and RTE have a role in this.
However, India also faces serious challenges in other areas – there is a high level of income inequality that has reduced the country’s HDI by as much as 30%. While inequality in health and education has lessened, it remains high in terms of gender and income. Female labour force participation has improved but remains low. Political representation of women is also low and the constitutional amendment to improve this is yet to come into force. Much of India’s neighbourhood mirrors these shortcomings, except Pakistan and Afghanistan – both have reported poorer performance. China and Sri Lanka have secured higher positions in the index.
Globally, the report shows that human development has stalled to a 35-year low because of various factors including the Covid pandemic and the economic slowdown in most parts of the world. The annual HDI increase was the lowest in 2023 since 1990. A positive takeaway from the report is the widespread hope that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will boost human development. It is expected that AI will improve productivity, create jobs, and show results in areas such as education and health. The report says India has been able to retain 20% of its AI researchers. The country needs to use AI in diverse areas such as agriculture, healthcare, and public service delivery. At the same time, adoption needs to be backed by strong policies and safeguards to prevent AI from exacerbating inequalities.