Context

• Last year India hosted the G-20 Summit, focusing on accelerating the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and soon after, an SDG Summit at the United Nations headquarters reviewed progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• In this global context, examining India's progress in human development since 1990, particularly through the lens of the UNDP's Human Development Report (HDR), is both timely and relevant.
• Moreover, it is important to explore India's human development trajectory, the intertwined nature of development and SDGs, and the country's pressing challenges in gender equality and income inequality.

India’s Progress in Human Development

• Historical Perspective
  • From 1990 to 2022, India’s Human Development Index (HDI) value increased from 0.434 to 0.644, reflecting an overall improvement of 48.4%.
  • Life expectancy in India has increased significantly over the decades, indicating better healthcare access and improvements in living conditions.
  • Similarly, educational indicators have shown progress, with increased school enrolment rates and expanded access to higher education.
  • These advancements are partly due to policy initiatives like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Universal Education Campaign) and schemes aimed at enhancing healthcare access, such as Ayushman Bharat.
• Recent Trends
  • Recent trends show a more complex picture as the HDI value was stagnant at 0.638 in 2019-20, dipped slightly to 0.633 in 2021, and then rose again to 0.644 in 2022.
  • This fluctuation reflects the impacts of external shocks, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted India's progress across various dimensions of human development.
  • The pandemic led to widespread job losses, economic slowdown, and a significant setback in educational access due to school closures and a digital divide, especially in rural areas.
  • These challenges caused temporary regressions in HDI values, underscoring the fragility of developmental gains when confronted with global crises.

Comparative Analysis with Neighbouring Countries

• While India has made strides in improving its HDI over the decades, its progress has been slower when compared to some neighbouring countries.
• India currently ranks 134 out of 193 countries in the HDR 2023-24, placing it within the medium human development category.
• This ranking, though an improvement, is modest compared to the rapid advancements made by several countries in the region.
• For instance, Malaysia (63), Thailand (66), and China (75) have achieved significantly higher HDI ranks.
• Even countries facing similar socio-economic challenges, such as Sri Lanka (78), Indonesia (112), Bhutan (125), and Bangladesh (129), have performed better in recent years.
• The faster progress of these countries is partly attributed to targeted investments in health and education and more inclusive growth policies.
• This comparative lag highlights areas where India needs to focus on structural reforms and policy interventions to boost human development indicators further.

Factors Contributing to India’s Progress in Human Development

• Economic Liberalisation
  • Several key factors have driven India’s progress in human development since the 1990s.
  • These include economic liberalisation, government welfare programs, and increased investment in human capital.
  • The liberalisation reforms of the early 1990s opened up the Indian economy, leading to rapid economic growth, job creation, and a substantial rise in income levels for many segments of society.
  • This economic growth has been critical in elevating millions of people out of poverty and providing them with better access to healthcare, education, and other essential services.
• Government Initiatives in Key Sectors
  • Programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have provided a safety net for rural populations, ensuring a minimum standard of living through guaranteed employment.
  • Additionally, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and other housing schemes have contributed to improving living standards by providing affordable housing to low-income families.
  • In the education sector, initiatives like the Right to Education (RTE) Act have made primary education a fundamental right, thereby increasing enrolment rates and reducing dropout rates among children, especially from marginalised communities.
  • The National Health Mission (NHM) has similarly focused on improving maternal and child health services, contributing to a decline in child mortality rates and an overall increase in life expectancy.

Challenges to Further Progress

• Uneven Distribution of Development Benefits
  • One significant barrier is the uneven distribution of development benefits across different regions and social groups.
  • While metropolitan areas and some southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have witnessed remarkable improvements in health, education, and living standards, other regions, particularly in the northern and eastern parts of the country, lag behind.
  • This disparity is evident in state-level HDI rankings, with states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh consistently showing lower human development outcomes compared to their southern counterparts.
• Rising Income Inequality
  • According to the HDR, India's income distribution is skewed, with the top 1% holding 21.7% of the country's total income.
  • This is notably higher than in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh (11.6%), China (15.7%), and Bhutan (18.1%), as well as the world average of 17.5% and the South Asia average of 19.6%.
  • Comparatively, income inequality in India exceeds that of regional groups like East Asia and the Pacific (16.5%) and Europe and Central Asia (15.7%).
• Quality of Education and Healthcare
  • Although access has increased, there remain concerns about the quality of services provided.
  • For example, a significant portion of rural schools face shortages of teachers and infrastructure, which hampers educational outcomes.
  • Similarly, healthcare access, while improved, is still inadequate in remote areas where facilities are often understaffed and under-resourced.
• Gender Inequality: Low Female Labour Force Participation
  • There is a 47.8 percentage point difference between the participation rates of women (28.3%) and men (76.1%).
  • This gap is strikingly large compared to neighbouring countries like China (53.6%), Bhutan (53.5%), and Bangladesh (39.2%).
  • Although the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 2022-23 shows some improvement in female participation, from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 37% in 2022-23, there remains a stark urban-rural divide.
  • Female participation in rural areas rose from 24.6% to 41.5% during this period, while urban areas saw only a marginal increase from 20.4% to 25.4%.
  • This disparity calls for targeted policies to bridge the rural-urban divide and boost female participation in the workforce.

Way Forward

• Targeted measures to reduce income concentration at the top, alongside policies that promote equitable access to resources, are essential for achieving sustainable development.
• For India, the path to sustainable development involves addressing critical issues in human development, including gender inequality, income disparity, and the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

• Sustainable development is not just about economic growth but also about expanding the freedoms and capabilities of every individual, ensuring that no one is left behind in the journey of progress.
• The recent international summits on sustainable development underscore the importance of a collective global effort to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
• By aligning its development strategies with the objectives of the SDGs, India can work towards creating a more equitable and prosperous future for its population.