Human Development Index: UNDP
- India Rises in Human Development Index 2023, But Inequality Remains a Key Challenge.
- According to the Human Development Report 2025 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India has climbed three places in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 130 out of 193 countries in 2023.
Highlights
- HDI Rank (2023): 130 (from 133 in 2022)
- HDI Value: 0.685 in 2023 (up from 0.676 in 2022)
- India remains in the ‘medium human development’ category but is nearing the high development threshold of 0.700.
Economic and Social Progress
- Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: Increased to $9,046.76 in 2023 (from $2,167.22 in 1990).
- Multidimensional Poverty: 135 million people exited poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
- Life Expectancy: Improved to 72 years in 2023 (from 58.6 years in 1990), showing resilience post-COVID-19.
Multidimensional Poverty: 135 million people exited poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21. Life Expectancy: Improved to 72 years in 2023 (from 58.6 years in 1990), showing resilience post-COVID-19.
Expected Years of Schooling: Rose to 13 years (from 8.2 years in 1990). Despite increased enrollment and years of schooling, learning outcomes and education quality need urgent attention.
Health and Education Interventions
- Progress in social indicators is attributed to key government schemes:
- Health: National Rural Health Mission, Ayushman Bharat, Janani Suraksha Yojana, Poshan Abhiyaan
Education: Right to Education Act, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, National Education Policy 2022
Challenges
- Inequality reduces India’s HDI by 30.7%, one of the highest losses in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite improvements in access, income, and gender-based disparities remain serious concerns.
Gender Disparities
- Low Female Labour Force Participation and under-representation in politics. However, the recent constitutional amendment reserving one-third seats for women in legislatures offers a path to progress.
PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION
Q1. About the Human Development Index (HDI) 2023, consider the following statements:
- HDI is published annually by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
- India’s HDI value in 2023 was below the threshold of medium human development.
- Life expectancy in India has increased by more than 10 years since 1990.
- HDI includes indicators such as life expectancy, gross national income per capita, and mean years of schooling.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 3 and 4 only
C. 2 and 4 only
D. 1, 2 and 3 only
Answer: B
- Statement 1 is incorrect: HDI is released by the UNDP, not the UN Economic and Social Council.
- Statement 2 is incorrect: India is in the ‘medium’ category (HDI = 0.685), not below it.
- Statement 3 is correct: Life expectancy rose from 58.6 in 1990 to 72 in 2023 (an increase of 13.4 years).
