🟠 Topic 18: Human Development Index (HDI) and Other Indices

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📌 Introduction

Economic indicators like GDP growth provide only a partial picture of a nation’s progress. To get a comprehensive view of human well-being, composite indices such as the Human Development Index (HDI) have been developed. These indices go beyond income to assess health, education, and quality of life, offering a holistic measure of development.

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🔹 What is Human Development Index (HDI)? 🌏

📖 Definition

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure human development across countries.

It combines three key dimensions:

Dimension	Indicator
Health	Life expectancy at birth
Education	Mean years of schooling & expected years of schooling
Standard of Living	Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP)

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🔎 Calculation Process

The HDI is the geometric mean of the normalized indices for each dimension.

HDI=(IHealth⋅IEducation⋅IIncome)13HDI = (I_{Health} \cdot I_{Education} \cdot I_{Income})^{\frac{1}{3}}

• Each indicator is normalized on a scale of 0 to 1, where 1 represents the best possible value.

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🔥 Importance of HDI

✔️ Provides a multi-dimensional view of development.
✔️ Helps compare development performance across countries.
✔️ Identifies policy gaps in health, education, and income.
✔️ Encourages countries to prioritize social sector spending.

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🔹 India’s HDI Performance (2023)

• India’s HDI Rank (2023): 132nd out of 191 countries.
• HDI Score: ~0.633 (Medium Human Development Category).
• Challenges: Low mean years of schooling, income inequality, healthcare access.

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🔹 Other Important Development Indices

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1️⃣ Gender Inequality Index (GII)

📖 Definition

The GII reflects gender-based inequalities in reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market participation.

Dimension	Indicator
Reproductive Health	Maternal mortality ratio, adolescent birth rate
Empowerment	Female parliamentary seats, secondary education
Labour Market	Female labour force participation rate

• Higher GII = More inequality.

India’s GII Rank (2023): ~122

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2️⃣ Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

📖 Definition

The MPI identifies poverty not just by income but by deprivations across health, education, and living standards.

Dimension	Indicators
Health	Child mortality, nutrition
Education	Years of schooling, school attendance
Living Standards	Cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets

• Higher MPI = More deprivation.

India’s MPI (2023): 16.4% population classified as multidimensionally poor.

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3️⃣ Global Hunger Index (GHI)

📖 Definition

GHI tracks hunger and undernutrition globally using 4 indicators:

Indicator	Weight
Child stunting	1/6
Child wasting	1/6
Child mortality	1/3
Undernourishment	1/3

• Higher GHI = Higher hunger levels.

India’s GHI Rank (2023): ~111 out of 125 countries (Serious Hunger Category).

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4️⃣ Environmental Performance Index (EPI)

📖 Definition

EPI ranks countries based on their performance in environmental health and ecosystem vitality.

Dimension	Indicators
Environmental Health	Air quality, sanitation, drinking water
Ecosystem Vitality	Biodiversity, climate change, fisheries, forests, agriculture

India’s EPI Rank (2022): 180 (Low Performer).

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5️⃣ World Happiness Report

📖 Definition

Ranks countries based on happiness perception, considering:

• Income levels.
• Social support.
• Healthy life expectancy.
• Freedom to make life choices.
• Generosity.
• Corruption perception.

India’s Rank (2023): ~126 out of 146 countries.

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🔹 Importance of Composite Indices

✔️ Capture multi-dimensional nature of development.
✔️ Provide global benchmarks for policy comparison.
✔️ Highlight areas needing policy attention (health, education, environment).
✔️ Help track progress towards SDGs.

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🔹 India’s Policy Focus Areas for Human Development

Focus Area	Key Scheme
Health	Ayushman Bharat
Education	Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
Nutrition	POSHAN Abhiyan
Gender Equality	Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
Environmental Sustainability	National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

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🔹 Limitations of Composite Indices

1️⃣ Data Reliability – Inconsistent data across countries.
2️⃣ Cultural Differences – Social perceptions of happiness and well-being differ widely.
3️⃣ Ignoring Inequality – Averages hide regional or caste-based disparities.
4️⃣ Environmental Costs Ignored in HDI – High-income countries with large carbon footprints still rank high.

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🔹 Case Study: Kerala’s High HDI Performance

• High literacy, life expectancy, and healthcare access.
• Strong local governance and community participation.
• Social development prioritized over economic growth alone.

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📚 Practice MCQ

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1️⃣ Consider the following statements regarding Human Development Index (HDI):

1. It measures only economic development.
2. It includes health, education, and income indicators.
3. It is published by the IMF.
4. India’s HDI rank is higher than its GDP rank.

Which of the above statements are correct?

✅ Options:
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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2️⃣ Which of the following indices measures multidimensional poverty?

✅ Options:
(a) Global Hunger Index
(b) Multidimensional Poverty Index
(c) Ease of Doing Business Index
(d) Gini Coefficient

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3️⃣ Consider the following statements regarding Gender Inequality Index (GII):

1. It measures gender disparity in education and health.
2. It is published by the World Bank.
3. Higher GII values indicate lower inequality.
4. Labour force participation is a key indicator.

Which of the above statements are correct?

✅ Options:
(a) 1 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

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4️⃣ Which organization publishes the Human Development Report?

✅ Options:
(a) IMF
(b) World Bank
(c) UNDP
(d) WTO

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5️⃣ Which index measures environmental sustainability and ecosystem health?

✅ Options:
(a) Global Hunger Index
(b) Environmental Performance Index
(c) Multidimensional Poverty Index
(d) Human Development Index