1.5. India Human Development Report 2011

The purpose of this report is to capture the progress in human development at the state level in India. In order to do this, three indices are constructed—the Health Index, the Education Index, and the Income Index. The Health Index is constructed using life expectancy at birth, which is indicative of a long and healthy life and is the most comprehensive indicator of the state of health of the population.

To construct the Education Index, the two indicators used are ‘adjusted mean years of schooling’ and ‘literacy rate for population 7 years and above’. These indicators are expected to reflect people’s ability to acquire education and knowledge, which are important components of human development. To construct the Income Index, the mean per capita expenditure (at 1999–2000 prices) weighted by the Gini coefficient of inequality of consumption expenditure is taken for each state.

The findings of the report for different indicators are discussed as under: