Human Development Index

Human Development Index

The United Nations developed and compiled the Human Development Index (HDI) to measure various countries’ levels of social and economic development. Average years of schooling, estimated years of schooling, life expectancy at birth, and gross national income per capita are the four key topics of importance. This indicator is used to compare the development levels of different countries and to track changes in development levels over time.

The Human Development Index (HDI) was created to emphasise the importance of individuals, namely their potential to achieve fulfilling employment and lives. In addition to typical economic growth data like GDP, measuring a country’s capacity for individual human development gives a supplementary criterion for evaluating a country’s level of development (GDP). This index can also be used to assess a country’s numerous policy decisions; for example, if two countries have roughly the same gross national income (GNI) per capita, this index can be used to compare their policies, it can be used to determine why their human development outcomes are so dissimilar. Proponents of the HDI believe it can be used to generate such constructive public policy discussions.

Human Development Index Definition

The HDI is a summary measure of basic human development accomplishment levels. A country’s computed HDI is the average of indices for each of the life traits studied: knowledge and comprehension, a long and healthy life, and a decent standard of living. The geometric mean of the three components is derived after each of the four components is normalized to a scale between 0 and 1.

Indicators of Human Development Index

The health component of the HDI is calculated using each country’s life expectancy at birth, normalised so that it equals 0 when life expectancy is 20 and 1 when life expectancy is 85.

The expected years of schooling for a child at the average age for starting school are measured on two levels: the mean years of schooling for inhabitants of a country and the expected years of schooling for a child at the average age for starting school. Both are normalised, with 15 mean years of schooling equaling one and 18 years of expected schooling equaling one, and a simple mean of the two is calculated.

GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP), a typical metric used to depict average income, was used to represent the level of living. While GNI per capita is $75,000, the standard of life is equal to 1; when GNI per capita is $100, it is equal to 0. The cube root of the product of the normalised component values yields the final Human Development Index score for each country, which is derived as a geometric mean of the three components.

Objectives of Human Development Report

The UNDP’s Human Development Report (HDR) focuses on a human development approach that includes people, their opportunities, and their aspirations. The principal reason for publishing the report:

1. Progress in human development
2. People’s options, opportunities, and freedom are expanding all throughout the world.
3.  An introduction to cutting-edge concepts in human development
4. Advocacy for policy changes in the real world
5.  Taking on policies and practices that stifle human progress.

Indices of Human Development Report-

1.  HDR-HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

It is a human development index that rates countries based on a combination of three dimensions:

Longevity and Good Health, Knowledge and Affordable Living Standards

2.  HDR-INEQUALITY-ADJUSTED HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

Another indication that was added to the Human Development Report in 2010 is this one. The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IDHI) adds a fourth dimension to the three dimensions used by the HDI to rank nations: inequality.

3. HDR- GENDER DEVELOPMENT INDEX

The Gender Development Index is a tool for assessing gender equality. With the HDR, it was first released in 1995. The following are the goals of introducing this index with HDR:

To add a new dimension to the ‘Gender-Sensitive’ HDI that already exists.

It is used to compare gross domestic product (GDP) with the gross national product (GNP) (GNP.)

Human development is measured by the disparities between men and women in categories such as life expectancy, education, and income.

4. HDR- GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX

Gender inequality, which is regarded as a fundamental impediment to human growth, causes various disadvantages for women and girls all throughout the world. The Gender Inequality Index, which was released with the human development report, measures gender inequality using three dimensions of human development:

1. Empowering Women in Reproductive Health
2. Financial Situation (Labour market participation)
3. HDR-MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX

The UNDP’s HDR’s multidimensional poverty index provides a complete picture of individuals living in poverty. It measures the overlapping deprivations among headcounts using the three dimensions of HDI. It considers two points:

1. Poor people as a percentage of the population
2. Each impoverished person’s average number of deprivations at the same time

Human Development Report 2020

1. The theme was ‘Human Development and the Anthropocene’.
2. India is ranked 13th out of 189 countries.
3. India’s HDI is 0.645. (medium human development category)
4. HDI has increased by 50% since 1990, to 0.645. (0.429)
5. In India, life expectancy has grown by 12 years since 1990.
6.  In India, the average and projected years of schooling increased by 3.5 and 4.5 years, respectively (since 1990)
7.  India’s GNI per capita has increased by 274 per cent since 1990.
8.  India’s HDI of 0.645 places it ahead of its South Asian neighbours.
9. However, India’s  Inequality-adjusted HDI, or IHDI, is 0.475. (slightly worse than Bangladesh)
10. India’s Gender Development Index (GDI) for 2020 is 0.820.
11. India- 0.488 (123/162 nations) on the Gender Inequality Index for 2020.

Human Development Report 2019

“Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the twenty-first century,” was the theme of the UNDP’s 2019 human development report. Five important messages were reflected in the report:

Despite the fact that acute deprivations have been reduced, the analysis suggests that there are still imbalances in human development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a goal to eliminate gaps in human development by 2030, although the research expresses scepticism about countries attaining this goal.

There is a divergence in expanded talents in the new generation of inequality. It means that when basic capabilities like life expectancy become more equal, new disparities related to the climate issue and technology advances emerge.

Power imbalances are thought to be the cause of the accumulation of inequities throughout one’s life.