Human Development Index

In news: 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, shows the Human Development Report 2021-22.

• A report on the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI) is part of the Human Development Report 2021-2022 released by the United Nations Development Programme.
• The HDI measures the average achievement of a country in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, education, and a decent standard of living.
• It is calculated using four indicators — life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.

Indian Scenario:

India ranked 132^nd among 191 countries and territories on the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI). The decline in the country’s performance from its previous level was on account of a fall in life expectancy.

Key points:

• India’s latest HDI value of 0.633 places the country in the medium human development category, lower than its value of 0.645 in the 2020 report.
• The report attributes the drop in HDI from 0.645 in 2019 to 0.633 in 2021 to India’s falling life expectancy — from 69.7 years to 67.2 years during the survey period.
• India’s expected years of schooling stand at 9 years, down from 12.2 years in the 2020 report, although the mean years of schooling is up at 6.7 years from 6.5 years in the 2020 report.
• Although India retained its 132^nd position in the Gender Development Index, the female life expectancy dropped from 71 years in the 2020 report to 68.8 years in the 2021 report.
• The mean years of schooling for females declined from 12.6 to 11.9 years in the corresponding period.
• India scored 0.123 in the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) with a headcount ratio of 27.9 per cent, with 8.8 per cent population reeling under severe multidimensional poverty.
• Over the last decade, India has lifted a staggering 271 million out of multidimensional poverty, the report noted.

Asian Countries:

• Among India’s neighbours, Sri Lanka (73^rd), China (79^th), Bangladesh (129^th), and Bhutan (127^th) are ranked above India, while Pakistan (161^st ), Nepal (143^rd ), and Myanmar (149^th) are worse off.
• The report said around 90 per cent of countries registered a decline in their HDI value in 2020 or in 2021.

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Which of the following gives the ‘Global Gender Gap Index’ ranking to the countries of the world? (2022)

1. World Economic Forum
2. UN Human Rights Council
3. UN Women
4. World Health Organization