HDR 2015

As per the HDR (Human Development Report) 2015, India ranks 130 out of

188 countries. The UNDP report ranks the countries on its Human Development Index (HDI) on three parameters—life expectancy, educational attainment and per capita income. It is an alternative indicator of socio- economic development of the country. The report provides comparative data for the period 1980-2014. Major highlights about India8, as per the report are as given below:

• India has improved her ranking by 6 places between 2009 and 2014. In comparison to other nations in the BRICS grouping, India has the lowest rank with Russia at 50, Brazil at 75, China at 90 and South Africa at 116.

• India’s HDI value is 0.609 which is below the average of countries in the medium human development group (0.630) but marginally higher

than the HDI average of South Asian countries (0.607).

• India’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita increased by about 338 per cent. Over the same period.

• Life Expectancy at Birth (LEB) increased by 14.1 years, an LEB that is lower than that of Brazil, China and Russia, but higher than that of South Africa. Bangladesh, with a lower GNI per capita than India, has a much higher LEB (71.6 years).

• Mean years of schooling increased by 3.5 years and expected years of schooling by 5.3 years. As compared to other BRICS nations, India reports the least mean years of schooling, This shows that the progress made in the education sector needs to be faster, with greater coverage and focus.

The Gender Development Index (GDI) published (for all 188 countries) along with the HDR 2015 has following figures for India:

• The HDI value for females in India is 0.525 in 2014, which remains unchanged in comparison to that in 2013 (i.e., HDR 2014). Except Pakistan, all the other four South Asian countries have reported higher HDI values for females in comparison to India.

• The mean years of schooling for girls in India at 3.6 years is substantially lower than the figure for males (7.2) and shows the extent of educational deprivation of girl children in India’s cultural context.

As per the report, in case of India, the cultural and social factors prevent women from engaging in economically productive activities outside the household. Apart of these factors, the lack of education and skills restricts them from participating in economic activity, which leads to their further impoverishment and subjugation. Therefore, in the present cultural context, and with a large proportion of women in the growing population of India, it is necessary to address the gender inequality