The Human Development Index In India
The Human Development Index measures the life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living and quality of life of countries around the world. It is a standard tool for measuring well-being, especially the well-being of children. It is used to determine whether a country is developed, developing or underdeveloped, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in 1990 by Indian economist Amartya Sen.
Often, it is mistaken to think that human development is measured by a country's economy, but this is not the case. Instead, it prioritizes the development of individuals in a country and especially assesses the lifestyle that people lead. Countries where people live better and easier lives have higher levels of human development, while countries with the exact opposite have lower levels of human development. Human development is defined by the level of wealth, health and education of the average person. Raising these components means better human development levels. As a result people are more likely to live full lives and, in short, more developed lives.
Reasons for low ranking HDI in India:
India ranks middle class when it comes to human development indicators. The biggest reason for India's low ranking is low school level.
With such a low level of schooling, it is not so easy to prepare Indians for the global economy and this translates into low income. And school education is especially low for girls and this translates into less educated mothers who cannot live longer or raise healthy citizens easily. Add low health and low income to low education and you can see the reason for low HDI in India.
India has a large population and the majority of the population is in the agricultural sector, which contributes less to the country’s GDP compared to the service and industry sector. In addition, 30% of the poor live in India, which is more than the total poverty of the entire African continent.
Income inequality exacerbates failures on other HDI indicators of human development. Countries with high income inequality have lower generations of income mobility. It appears at birth and determines access to quality health care, education and opportunities.
If production is low and population is high it can lead to a reduction in HDI. There is an unfair use of national resources in India. Lack of skills and other reasons for illiteracy. Lack of access to nutritious food, lack of basic necessities like housing, clothing and drinking water. Apart from this, the level of education determines the progress of the country. Gender discrimination and inequality of social, educational and economic status. Women are paid less than men.
One is the existence of a caste system in India. Many people are suffering as a result of the division and classification of different Indian societies based on socio-economic status and their society has low level of education, health and income. Introduced by the British and currently banned by the Government of India, the caste system still affects many areas that are low in the caste system and is still discriminated against to some extent.
As a result, these individuals face discrimination in Indian society and have to bear its burden. Discrimination extends to all areas of human development, including work schools and the health system.
It causes low levels of human development in many parts of India and as a result affects human development in India as a whole.
The lack of a socio-economic safety net is another reason for the low level of human development. Much of India has a low development score in HDI as there is no ‘socio-economic safety net’ in the country for the urban poor. Socio-economic security networks are rehabilitation programs aimed at preventing the poor or vulnerable from falling below a certain poverty level. India does not have these rehabilitation programs and as a result many people are exposed to extreme poverty. These people have no basic needs and they lead very difficult lives.
Health- India has many reasons for its low health standards, which contribute to a low level of human development.
Income- Causes of poor levels of education are not too numerous, but rather the causes that do exist are quite substantive. These contribute greatly towards India’s lack of high levels of education and affect the country’s human development levels as a whole.
How India as a country achieve better development
The size of financial resources is a major factor influencing human development, and the distribution and allocation of these resources also play a major role in determining the level of human development.
Many global case studies suggest that higher growth with a more effective revenue distribution can help boost human development, even with modern social spending.
The Government of India should aim to provide more social security programs to help those who are harmed by certain circumstances. India’s HDI score will increase significantly if a politically committed government implements comprehensive policies that strengthen public health, education and nutrition, and end gender discrimination in a more egalitarian order. Fighting and eradicating corruption is another thing that the government can do to raise the level of human development to the most effective social security programs. Changing the focus from producing for profit to producing for consumption is another thing that India can do to improve the level of human development in the country. I
Universalizing education and health care can lift the grassroots out of poverty.
Maintaining and improving quality of life also depends on policies designed to address major emerging challenges such as urbanization, housing shortages, electricity, water, education and health care.
Steps such as streamlining the traditional approach of creating new sources of income, rationally targeting subsidies, and fair use of income for social sector development.
Effective performance appraisal of projects and activities engaged in social sector development through innovative methods such as budget, social audit and participatory democracy will yield positive results.
Improving the integrity of public health services and providing greater access can further improve health. Lack of health services is one of the reasons for poor health in India. The government can also reduce the cost of health services. For those living in rural areas, amidst a very low level of human development, many health services are unaffordable and unavailable to them. By subsidizing the cost of these services more people can use it to treat their illness and ensure better health standards in the country. The Government of India should also provide backward areas with more qualified doctors. Often people in rural areas turn to untrained professionals for medical help due to the lack of qualified doctors, as a result their condition does not improve and in some cases it gets worse. Finally, the Government of India should also develop free vaccination programs. There are many harmful diseases in India especially in rural areas like tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, *** and dengue fever. Developing free immunization programs for children can reduce many deadly diseases and improve overall health in the country and save many premature lives.
This can be done by setting up small scale industries. This includes the introduction of small industries compared to large industries such as agriculture to combat unemployment. India can also use economic policy. This policy will increase per capita employment and GNI by helping to boost the economic growth rate. This includes reducing taxes and increasing government spending, which means people will have higher disposable incomes. India can also promote geo-mobility. The government may grant tax exemption to companies and businesses established in rural areas. This means that rural people with very low incomes and high unemployment will have better access and bigger opportunities. Alternatively, financial assistance may be provided for the mostly unemployed to move to areas with higher employment, so they have a better chance of finding employment.
The government should invest in gender equality and women’s empowerment because they are an integral part of human development.
One thing they can do is encourage teachers. Providing incentives for teachers to teach more and at a better level in rural areas will significantly improve the overall level of education in India. The Government of India may encourage higher enrollment of girls in schools. Girls, especially those from rural backgrounds, often do not attend school due to the traditional role of women in these areas. Increasing the enrollment of girls in schools means reducing the gap between improved literacy rates and gender inequality in the country. Also, the government should make attendance in schools mandatory. This means that the level of education in India will skyrocket if implemented effectively. This is for the development of the children, because after graduation they will be able to get a good job. The government may also increase funding for resources in schools. It can help improve the general cleanliness and condition of schools by building better facilities, providing better learning resources for students, and building new toilets and bathrooms, converting old buildings into new, perhaps new modern. School aesthetics can be enhanced by making the form.
India’s HDI score will increase significantly if a politically committed government implements comprehensive policies that strengthen public health, education and nutrition, and end gender discrimination in a more egalitarian order.
Current development levels in India
For a country with so many resources and a well-prospering economy, the level of human development can be denounced to be quite low. In 2013, India’s Human Development Index value was 0.552, lying in the medium human development category. This means it is quite mediocre and overall, quite low for a country with such great levels of economic prosperity. In fact, out of the world, India’s HDI ranks 136 out of a total 187 countries, and lies well below average. The country is taking the right steps to tackle poor human development, but it is a very slow rate. This can be seen through the fact that India has in fact dropped ranks over the course of 2013, having place at 119 in 2012, despite improving its overall HDI. The average income of Indian citizens can be witnessed to be quite low. This can be seen through the quality that a majority of Indians live, involving a lack and major deprivation of even basic needs. This is further exposed through their comparison against countries with high average individual incomes
Many Indians cannot sustain themselves and struggle to build a simple but sustainable lifestyle. In addition, the lack of income also affects the health and education of individuals. The inability to pay for these resources will further affect their level of human development and will also affect the level of human development of the whole of India.
India’s current health status is very average, and much higher than all other parts of human development. However, they lag far behind the levels accustomed to more developed countries.
The level of education in India is the lowest part of human development, in fact very low. With the education index level at only 0.459, there is no doubt that India needs to find a way to improve and develop its education system.
Gender inequality is a very big issue in India right now. Gender inequality severely affects the present Indian society. The general rules of India also restricted women to the secondary position in Indian homes and workplaces in a stereotypical manner. It mainly affects the health and economic status of women and also their political participation. They are forced to get married at a young age, and then they are burdened with tough household and financial responsibilities. They are more likely to be malnourished because women, the last members of the household, have the lowest priority to eat and seek medical help.
