Human Development Index and Gender Development Index of India

Human Development Index and Gender Development Index of India

The human development index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, is a summary measure of a country’s human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions:

•  a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth;

•  access to knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment (sic) ratio in education; and

•  a decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity(PPP) US dollars.

These three dimensions are standardized to values between 0 and 1, and the simple average is taken to arrive at the overall HDI value in the range 0 to 1. Countries are then ranked on the basis of this value with a rank of 1 representing the highest HDI value.

India ranks 134 among 182 countries and is classified as a medium HDI country. Between 1980 and 2007, India’s HDI increased by about 1.3% every year. Many African countries show even higher growth rates in HDI, reflecting the very low levels they were at in 1980. Most high income countries show growth rates between 0.25 to 0.5% per year over this period.

The ranking clearly showed India has slipped in comparative terms in ensuring a better quality of life for its citizens as in the previous index, compiled together for 2007 and 2008, it ranked 128, while the position the year before was 126.

Norway, Australia and Iceland top the HDI while Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Niger are the bottom of the HDI.

Gender Development Index of India

In terms of the Gender Development Index, India ranks 113 out of 157 countries. Gender Development Index is calculated with the use of 3 variables:

•    Life Expectancy

•    Education

•    Estimated Earned Income

Government Expenditure in Social Sector

The government to improve these parameters that affect the HDI and GDI has increasingly been spending higher on social services as a proportion of total expenditure and was 22.5% for 2008. Expenditure on education and health care has also increased.

Poverty Index of India

There are concerns about vulnerability of people who have crossed the poverty line (PL) and are at present above it. Vulnerability is a relative term and could be gauged from the consumption pattern in the absence of a better available alternative.

The average per capita consumption expenditure for rural and urban population as per 61st Round (2004-05) is Rs. 558.78 and Rs.1052.36, respectively. NSSO data also reveals that rural population on an average spends about 55% of its consumption on food and the remaining 45% on non-food items.

Read more about the Socio-economic profile of India at http://www.india-reports.com/summary/socio.aspx