Human Development Report 2023- 24

March 16, 2024

General Studies Paper -3

Context: The United Nations Development Programme has released the Human Development Report 2023-24.

About Human Development Index (HDI)

The HDI is a composite index computed based on three parameters – life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Major Findings

Rise in Global Ineqalities:After 20 years of convergence, the gap between the richest and poorest countries has started to widen from 2020.
Rich countries are experiencing record levels of human development, while half of the world’s poorest countries remain below their pre-covid level.
SDG Goal: Before the covid crisis, the world was on track to reach an average “very high” HDI by 2030, coinciding with the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Now it is off track, with every region running below its pre-2019 projections.
India:India has been ranked 134th out of 193 countries. India’s ranking has improved by one position this year.
India has been placed in the medium human development category.
India saw improvements across all HDI indicators– life expectancy, education, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
India demonstrated progress in reducing gender inequality, India’s GII value is better than the global and South Asian averages.
India also has one of the largest gender gaps in the labour force participation rate—a 47.8 percentage point difference between women (28.3%) and men (76.1%).

India’s Progress in HDI Since 1990

India has shown remarkable progress in human development over the years.

Since 1990, life expectancy at birth has risen by 9.1 years; expected years of schooling have increased by 4.6 years, and mean years of schooling have grown by 3.8 years.

India’s GNI per capita has grown by approximately 287 percent.

India’s Neighbours:Sri Lanka has been ranked at 78, while China is ranked 75, both categorized under the High Human Development category.
Bhutan stands at 125 and Bangladesh is in the 129th position.
Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India.
Top Ranked:Switzerland has been ranked number one followed by Norway and Iceland.
Bottom Ranked:Central African Republic (191), South Sudan (192) and Somalia (193) were at the bottom of the Index.

Recommendation as per the Report for Improvement in HDI:

Planetary public goods for climate stabilityas we confront the unprecedented challenges of the Anthropocene;
Digital global public goods for greater equityin harnessing new technologies for equitable human development;
New and expanded financial mechanisms, including a novel track in international cooperation that complements humanitarian assistance and traditional development aid to low-income countries; and
Dialing down political polarizationthrough new governance approaches focused on enhancing people’s voices in deliberation and tackling misinformation.