Question - Enumerate the factors that have led to poor performance of India in human development.
Exam = UPSC IES / ISS
Paper = Indian Economics
Answer
Human development is a broad concept that measures the well-being and capabilities of people beyond their income levels. It encompasses various dimensions, such as health, education, standard of living, gender equality, environmental sustainability, etc. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite indicator that captures these dimensions by combining three indicators: life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and gross national income per capita.
India's performance on the HDI has been poor compared to many other countries, especially in the South Asian region. India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the latest HDI report, with a score of 0.633. This is below the global average of 0.737 and the South Asian average of 0.642. Some of the factors that have led to this poor performance are:
Income inequality: India has a high degree of income inequality, which means that the benefits of economic growth are not shared equally among the population. The richest 10% of Indians own 77% of the total wealth, while the bottom 50% own only 2.6%. This creates a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and affects their access to basic services and opportunities.
Limited access to quality education: India has made significant progress in increasing literacy rates and school enrolment, but the quality of education remains a major concern. Many children, especially those in rural areas and from disadvantaged groups, do not have access to quality schools, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. High dropout rates, poor learning outcomes, and low skill levels are some of the challenges faced by the education sector.
Healthcare inequality: India's healthcare system suffers from a lack of accessibility and affordability for many people, especially those in rural areas and from marginalised communities. There is a shortage of public health facilities, trained health workers, essential medicines, and equipment. Many people have to incur high out-of-pocket expenses or rely on informal providers for their health needs. This leads to poor health outcomes, such as high maternal and child mortality rates, low life expectancy, and high burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Gender disparities: India has a low level of gender equality, which affects the status and empowerment of women and girls in various spheres of life. Women and girls face discrimination and violence in their homes, workplaces, and public spaces. They have limited access to education, health care, employment, property rights, political participation, and decision-making power. They also bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work.
Malnutrition and hunger: India has a high prevalence of malnutrition and hunger among its population, especially among children under five years of age. According to the Global Hunger Index 2020, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries, with a score of 27.2. This indicates a serious level of hunger and undernutrition. Malnutrition affects the physical and cognitive development of children, as well as their immunity and susceptibility to diseases.
Sanitation and clean water: India has made remarkable progress in improving sanitation coverage and reducing open defecation under the Swachh Bharat Mission. However, there are still gaps in ensuring safe disposal of human excreta, solid waste management, and behavioural change among people. Moreover, access to clean drinking water remains a challenge for many households, especially in rural areas and slums. Lack of sanitation and clean water leads to various health risks, such as diarrheal diseases, intestinal worms, typhoid fever, etc.
Unemployment and underemployment: India faces a serious problem of unemployment and underemployment among its large and young workforce. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20, the unemployment rate in India was 4.8%, while the underemployment rate was 20.8%. This means that many people are either not able to find work or are working in low-productivity and low-income jobs. This affects their livelihoods, incomes, and living standards.
Environmental degradation: India is facing various environmental challenges due to rapid population growth, urbanisation, industrialization, and climate change.
These include air pollution, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and natural disasters. These have adverse impacts on human health, agriculture, ecosystems, and economic development.
To improve its performance on human development, India needs to take various measures, such as:
Reducing income inequality: India needs to adopt more progressive taxation policies, redistribute wealth more equitably, and provide more social protection schemes for the poor and vulnerable. This will help reduce poverty, improve living standards, and enhance social mobility.
Improving quality education: India needs to invest more in improving the quality of education at all levels, from pre-primary to higher education. This will require increasing public spending on education, improving infrastructure and facilities, enhancing teacher training and accountability, strengthening curriculum and assessment, and promoting digital and vocational education. This will help improve learning outcomes, skill development, and employability.
Strengthening healthcare system: India needs to strengthen its public healthcare system by increasing public expenditure on health, expanding universal health coverage, improving access and affordability of health services and medicines, enhancing quality and regulation of health care providers, and promoting preventive and primary health care. This will help improve health outcomes, reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and increase health security.
Promoting gender equality: India needs to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and girls by eliminating discrimination and violence against them, ensuring equal access to education, health care, employment, property rights, and political participation, and increasing their decision-making power and agency. This will help improve their well-being, dignity, and potential.
Combating malnutrition and hunger: India needs to combat malnutrition and hunger by ensuring food security and nutrition for all, especially for children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and vulnerable groups. This will require increasing public investment in agriculture, food processing, and distribution, improving the implementation and coverage of food and nutrition schemes, and promoting dietary diversity and awareness.
Enhancing sanitation and clean water: India needs to enhance sanitation and clean water by ensuring safe disposal of human excreta and solid waste, promoting behavioral change among people towards hygiene practices, and providing adequate and affordable access to clean drinking water for all households. This will help reduce health risks, morbidity, and mortality.
Creating employment opportunities: India needs to create more employment opportunities for its workforce by boosting economic growth, diversifying the industrial base, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, enhancing skill development and training, and facilitating labor market reforms. This will help increase productivity, income, and living standards.
Protecting the environment: India needs to protect the environment by adopting more sustainable development policies, practices, and technologies. This will require enhancing environmental governance, regulation, and enforcement, increasing public awareness and participation, promoting renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, conserving natural resources and biodiversity, and mitigating and adapting to climate change. This will help preserve the ecological balance, human health, and economic development.