HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION
According to the UNDP, human development may be defined as a process of enlarging peoples choices. At all levels of development, the three essential choices for people are, to live a long and healthy life, to acquire better knowledge and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living. If these essential choices are not available, many other opportunities to improve the quality of life will remain inaccessible. Human development has two dimensions: acquiring human capabilities and the use people made of these acquired capabilities for productive, leisure and other purposes. The benefits of human development go far beyond the expansion of income and wealth accumulation because people constitute the very essence of human development. A major difference between economic growth and human development is that the former focuses on the enlargement of one option (income or product), while the focus of the latter is on enlarging all human options. In other words, education, health, clean environment and material well being do not necessarily depend on income. Thus, the options available for improving peoples lives are influenced by the quality of economic growth in its wider sense, and the impact is by no means confined to quantitative aspects of such growth. A distinction can also be drawn between human resources development and human development. The former focuses on the production aspect and as such deals with people as a factor of production like material capital and natural resources. Thus, the end goal of investment in human capital, in terms of health, education, nutrition and training, is to boost production and generate additional income.

Components of Human Development

The UNDP defines the components of human development as involving four basic elements:

- Equality: Defined as equal access to opportunities. This concept implies the existence of competitive markets and competitors with equal access to productive assets and knowledge.

- Productivity: Human development does not run counter to the theory of

economic growth. It is rather dependent on the contention that economic growth and improved productivity can be achieved through development of human resources and creation of a conducive environment where people can make use of their capabilities optimally. In the same vein, adequate focus is placed on the quality aspect of growth, rather than exclusive emphasis on its quantitative aspect.

- Sustainability: To ensure sustainability of choices in order to accommodate the needs of future generations. - Empowerment: Empowerment and participation imply provision of an adequate social environment in which people participate for achievement of a better life. Thus, the concept of human development, in line with its focus on enabling people to enjoy a better life as the ultimate goal of human endeavor, highlights that this goal cannot be achieved solely through improvements in income or material wellbeing. The concept further emphasizes the inter-dependence between the key components of human well-being: without adequate income, many health and education services may not be accessible; and without a good education rewarding jobs and income opportunities may not be available to an individual. Therefore, these components of human development must be treated within a comprehensive framework. And while their evaluation by people may change over time and differ between countries and even groups within the same country, the basic components of human development - income, education and health - are nevertheless considered essential at all levels of development.

Furthermore, if these three essential choices or ingredients were not available, other opportunities, which are also important for human well-being, would remain inaccessible. The expansion of choices in the areas of education, income and health not only provides necessary conditions for a better material life, but also paves the

way for the creation of a suitable environment for peoples spiritual advancement and creativity. The broad scope of the prerequisites for human development as outlined above raises an important issue as to their applicability to individual countries. Their policy implications are certain to vary from one country to another as what constitutes appropriate some of the human development policy is likely to be unique to each individual country and will be influenced by its religious, cultural, social, political and economic values.

MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

The new century opened with an unprecedented declaration of solidarity and determination to rid the world of poverty. In 2000 the UN Millennium Declaration, adopted at the largest-ever gathering of heads of state, committed countries rich and poor to doing all they can to eradicate poverty, promote human dignity and equality and achieve peace, democracy and environmental sustainability. World leaders promised to work together to meet concrete targets for advancing development and reducing poverty by 2015 or earlier. Emanating from the Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals bind countries to do more in the attack on inadequate incomes, widespread hunger, gender inequality, environmental deterioration and lack of education, health care and clean water. They also include actions to reduce debt and increase aid, trade and technology transfers to poor countries. This Report adds to the understanding of poverty by analyzing the root causes of failed development. It demonstrates that the range of human development in the world is vast and uneven, with astounding progress in some areas amidst stagnation and dismal decline in others. Balance and stability in the world requires the commitment of all nations, rich and poor, and a global development compact to extend the wealth of possibilities to all people.

The 2003 Report explores constraints that are crucial for sustainable human development: the need for economic reforms to establish macroeconomic stability; the need for strong institutions and governanceto enforce the rule of law and control corruption; the need for social justice and involving people in decisions that affect them and their communities and countries; and the structural constraints that impede economic growth and human development. The Millennium Development Compact presented in this Report proposes a policy approach to achieving the Millennium Development Goals that starts by addressing these constraints.

Human development in India can be judged by human capital indices. These are: 1. 2. 3. 4.
HDI -- Human Development Index HPI-1 Human Poverty Index for Development Countries GDI -- Gender-related Development Index GEM -- Gender Empowerment Measure

Human Development index (HDI) 1. Calculating HDI

The HDI is a summary measure of human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: 1. A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. 2. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (with one-third weight). 3. A decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms in US dollars.

Before the HDI itself is calculated, an index needs to be created for each of these dimensions. To calculate these indicesthe life expectancy, education and GDP indicesminimum and maximum value (goalposts) are chosen for each underlying indicator. Performance in each dimension is expressed as a value between 0 and 1 by applying the following general formula: Actual value Minimum value Dimension index = ----------------------------------Maximum value Minimum value

The HDI is then calculated as a simple average of the dimension indices. HDI = 1/3(life expectancy index) + 1/3(education index) + 1/3(GDP index)

Goalposts for calculating the HDI

Indicator Life expectancy at birth (years) Adult literacy rate (%) Combined gross enrolment ratio (%) GDP per capita (PPP US$) Maximum value 85 100 100 40000 Minimum value 25 0 0 100

2. Calculating Indias HDI

(a) Calculating the life expectancy index

The life expectancy index measures the relative achievement of a country in life expectancy at birth. For India, Life expectancy was 63.6 years in 2001 (according to HDR 2006).

(b)

Calculating the education index

The education index methods a countrys relative achievements in both adult literacy and combined primary, secondary, tertiary gross enrolments. First, an index for adult literacy and one for combined gross enrolment are calculated. Then these two indices are combined to create the education index, with twothirds weight given to adult literacy and one-third weight to combined gross enrolment. For India adult literacy rate is 61.0% and combined gross enrolment ratio is 62.0% (according to HDR 2006).

(c)

Calculating the GDP index

The GDP index is calculated using adjusted GDP per capita (PPP US$). In the HDI, income serves as a surrogate for all the dimensions of human development not reflected in a long and healthy life and in knowledge. Income is adjusted because achieving a respectable level of human development does not require unlimited income. Accordingly, the logarithm of income is used. For Indian GDP per capita is $3,139 (PPP US$), according HDR 2006.

(d)

Calculating the HDI

Once the HDI dimension indices have been calculated, determining the HDI is straightforward. It is a simple average of the three dimension indices. HDI = 1/3(life expectancy index) + 1/3 (education index) + 1/3 (GDP index) = 0.611 Thus, Indias position with respect to HDI is as follows: The HDI for India is 0.611. India ranks 126th out of 177 countries for which this index was calculated. India has medium human development, according to Human Development Report 2006.

3. National human development report (NHDR)

Global Human Development Reports (HDR), which UNDP publishes annually
since 1990, constitute the first comprehensive and systematic attempt to measure achievements in development from a human perspective, expressed in terms of numerical indicators that permit inter-country and inter-temporal comparisons. No less significant have been the reports contribution to enriching the concept and in giving it a worldwide dissemination. They are a reliable source containing an alternative perspective on critical issues for human development worldwide. Featuring the Human Development Index, every report presents agenda-setting data and analysis and calls international attentions to issues and policy options that put people at the center of strategies to meet the challenges of development today - economic, social, political, and cultural.

Regional Human Development Reports (AHDR) are highly encouraged by

UNDP, whereby each Region produces a report that focuses on relevant and pressing issues. They are an instrument for measuring human progress and triggering action for change. They serve to promote regional partnerships for influencing change, and address region-specific human development approaches to human rights, poverty, education, economic reform, HIV/AIDS, and globalization. The UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States (UNDP/RBAS) has started since 2002 producing an annual regional report.

National Human Development Reports (NHDR) provide a tool for national

policy debate placing human development at the forefront of the national political agenda. They are A tool for policy analysis reflecting people's priorities, strengthening national capacities, engaging national partners, identifying inequities and measuring progress. A comparison of the indicators used in NHDR and UNDP is given on the next page.

Comparison of UNDP and NHDR indicators of HDI UNDPIndicators Life Expectancy at Birth and Attainments Longevity NHDRIndicators 1. Life Expectancy at Age 1, 2. Infant Mortality Rate Adult literacy Rate combined With Enrolment Ratio Educational 1. Literacy rate for age 7 and above, and 2. intensity of Formal education

Real GDP per capita in PPP $

Economic

1. Intensity of formal education 2. per capita real Consumption expenditure Adjusted for equality

A unique feature of the report is that it has calculated HDI for rural and urban areas separately for 1981 and 1991, the periods for which data was available.

NHDR has drawn the following conclusions:

1. HDI varies from 0.638 for Kerala to 0.367 for Bihar in 2001 2. Better off states are Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra Worse off states are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (or BIMARU states) 3. Less developed states have low HDI and vice versa.

The index is not, in any sense, a comprehensive measure of human development. It does not, for example, include important indicators such as inequality, respect for human rights, political freedom, etc. what is does provide is a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the complex relationship between income and well- being.

HUMAN POVERTY INDEX FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (HPI-1)

1. CALCULATING HPI-1
While the HDI measures average achievement, the HPI-1 measures deprivations in the three basic dimensions of human development captured in the HDI: 1. A long and healthy lifevulnerability to death at a relatively early age, as measured by the probability at birth of not surviving to age 40. 2. Knowledgeexclusion from the world of reading and communications, as measured by the adult literacy rate. 3. A decent standard of livinglack of access to overall economic provisioning, (as measured by the unweighted average of two indicators), the percentage of the population without sustainable access to an improved water source and the percentage of children underweight for age. Calculating the HPI-1 is more straightforward than calculating the HDI. The indicators used to measure the deprivations are already normalized between 0 and 100 (because they are expressed as percentages), so there is no need to create dimension indices as for the HDI. Originally , the measures of deprivation in a decent standard of living also included an indicator of access to health services. But because reliable data on access to health services are lacking for recent years, in this years Human Development Report deprivation in a decent standard of living is measured by two

rather than three indicators-the percentage of the population without sustainable access to an improved water source and the percentage of children under weight for age. 2. CALCLATING INDIASS HPI According to human Development Report 2006: 1. Indias HPI-1 value is 31.1%.india ranks 55th among 102 developing countries for which the index has been calculated. 2. HPI-1 rank minus Income Poverty rank for India is (negative) -14. Negative result shows that India performed better in human poverty than in income poverty. 12.5 GENDER-RELATED DEVELOPMENT

INDEX (GDI)
1. Calculating GDI While the HDI measures average achievement, the GDI adjust the average achievement to reflect the inequalities between men and women in the following dimensions: 1. A long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth. 2. Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio. 3. A decent standard of living, as measured by estimated earned income (PPP$). The calculation of the GDI involves three steps: (a) Female and male indices in each dimension are calculating according to this general formula: Dimension index = actual value-minimum value Maximum value-minimum value

(b)

The female and male indices in each dimension are combined in a way that penalises differences in achievement between men and women.

(c)

The GDI is calculated by combining the three equally distributed indices in an unweighted average.

Table 12.3 Goalpost for Calculating the GDI

Note: The maximum and minimum values (goalposts) for life expectancy are five years higher for women to take into account their longer life expectancy.

2. Calculating India GDI

The HDI measure average achievements in a country, but it do not incorporate the degree of gender imbalance in these achievements. The gender-related development index (GDI) measures achievements in the same dimensions using the same indicators as the HDI but captures inequalities in achievement between women and men. Ii is the simply the HDI adjusted downward for gender inequality . The greater the gender disparity in basic human development, the lower is a countrys GDI relative to its HDI. Indias GDI value, 0.591 should be compared to its HDI value of 0.611. Its GDI value is 96.7% of its HDI value. Out of the 136 countries with both HDI and GDI values, 121 countries have a better ratio than Indias.