Human development should be priority

India does not have much to be happy about the latest UN Human Development report where it is ranked 134 among 193 countries. The country moved up by one position in 2022 from 135 in 2021, but that can hardly be considered an advancement. Sri Lanka is ranked much higher at 78 and China is at 75. India also ranks below Bhutan, which stands at 125, and Bangladesh, which is in the 129th position. Among the neighbours, only Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India. Some factors that constitute the index have improved in India but the country is only in the Medium Human Development category, which is just above the lowest rung. There was an increase in life expectancy from 67.2 to 67.7, and in expected years of schooling from 12 to 12.6. The per capita Gross National Income increased from $6,542 to $6,951. These have contributed to the slight improvement in the position. 

The progress India has made is not enough when the challenge is to ensure a minimum quality of life to all citizens. The goal of becoming a developed country by 2047 will have meaning only if development means human development. India’s low status in the HDI is worrying especially because it is the most populous country in the world. The report has appreciated the county’s efforts to improve its HDI. Between 1990 and 2022, India saw its HDI value increase by 48.4% from 0.434 to 0.644. But there is a lot more to be done. There are inequalities of various kinds that need to be addressed. The rich-poor gap has been widening. The gender gap in labour force participation is very wide, with women at 28.3%, compared to men at 76.1%. No qualitative improvement in human development is possible without improving the status of women at home, in the workplace, and in society. There are welfare programmes directed at weaker sections of society but the implementation needs to be sincere and toned up. Education and health, which are the most important parameters, need much more serious attention than they get now. 

The report helps to place India in the global context and makes observations which are relevant for the country and the world. It has noted that the inequalities in the world have widened and the two-decade trend of steadily reducing inequalities between wealthy and poor nations is now in reverse. It calls for collective efforts to advance action on climate change, digitalisation, poverty and inequality. It also warns that failure to make such efforts would not only hinder human development but also worsen polarisation and further erode people’s trust in institutions of governance worldwide.