UNDP’s Human Development Index

In News

• Human Development Report 2021-22 was recently released.

Human Development Index

• Human Development Index is a composite index given by the report that measures average achievement in human development taking into account four indicators: 
  • Life expectancy at birth (Sustainable Development Goal 3); 
  • Expected years of schooling (SDG 4.3); 
  • Mean years of schooling (SDG 4.4); and 
  • Gross national income (GNI) per capita (2017 PPP$) (SDG 8.5).

Report Highlights

• Global scenario:
  • A combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate crises has dragged down the human development score in 90 percent of the countries.
    • This reduction has reversed much of the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • A large contributor to the Human Development Index’s recent decline is a global drop in life expectancy, down from 72.8 years in 2019 to 71.4 years in 2021. 

• India’s position:
  • India’s rank on the Human Development Index has slipped from 130 in 2020 to 132 in 2021, in line with a global fall in HDI scores in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • India’s HDI value:
    • India’s HDI value stood at 0.633 during 2021, which was lower than the world average of 0.732. 
      • In 2020, too, India recorded a decline in its HDI value (0.642) in comparison to the pre-Covid level of 2019 (0.645).
  • Indicator-specific values:
    • 2021: 
      • India’s life expectancy at birth was recorded at 67.2 years; 
      • Expected years of schooling at 11.9 years; 
      • Mean years of schooling at 6.7 years; and 
      • Gross national income per capita (2017 PPP) at $6,590. 
    • 2022:
      • On all these four parameters, India was behind the world averages in 2021: 
      • Life expectancy at 71.4 years, 
      • Expected years of schooling at 12.8 years, 
      • Mean years of schooling at 8.6 years and 
      • Gross national income per capita (2017 PPP$) at $16,752.
  • Reasons behind India’s drop:
    • Like global trends, in India’s case, the drop in HDI from 0.645 in 2019 to 0.633 in 2021 can be attributed to falling life expectancy.

• Parameters where India showed improvement:
  • The report highlighted some areas where India showed improvement. 
  • Inequality:
    • Compared to 2019, the impact of inequality on human development is lower. 
    • India is bridging the human development gap between men and women faster than the world. 
    • This development has come at a smaller cost to the environment.
  • Health and education:
    • The intergovernmental organisation lauded India’s investment in health and education, helping it come closer to the global human development average since 1990. 
  • Clean water, sanitation and affordable clean energy:
    • The country is improving access to clean water, sanitation and affordable clean energy.
  • Vulnerable population:
    • According to the UN recent policy decisions made by the country have increased access to social protection for the vulnerable population groups, it highlighted. 

Source: TH