According to the “Human Development Report 2020 – The next frontier:Human Development and the Anthropocene” released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India (score of 0.645) was ranked 131 in the list of 189 countries based on Human Development Index (HDI). Norway topped the list with a score of 0.957, the second place was grabbed by 2 countries – Ireland (0.955) and Switzerland (0.955). The report provides HDI ranks for the year 2019.
i.India slipped two spots to 131, it ranked 129 in 2019 HDI.
ii.HDI is measured based on 3 criterias which are – Life Expectancy, Education and Per Capita Income, in the 2020 report ‘Planetary pressures’ a new experimental Index has been introduced.
- ‘Planetary pressures’ – Takes into account Countries carbon dioxide emissions and material footprints.
iii.2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of the 1st Human Development report.
Rankings:
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 131 | India | 0.645 |
| 1 | Norway | 0.957 |
| 2 | Ireland | 0.955 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 0.955 |
| 188 | Central African Republic | 0.397 |
| 189 | Niger | 0.394 |
Regarding India:
i.According to the report based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) India’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita fell to USD 6, 681 in 2019 from USD 6, 829 in 2018.
ii.India’s HDI value of 0.645 puts it into the medium human development category.
iii.India’s Life expectancy at birth (years) SDG3 is 69.7. India’s Expected years of schooling (years) SDG 4.3 is 12.2 India’s Mean years of schooling (years) SDG 4.6 is 6.5 .
iv.According to the report between 1990 and 2019
- India’s HDI increased from 0.429 to 0.645 – which is an increase of 50.3%.
- India’s life expectancy at birth increased by 11.8 years.
- Mean years of schooling increased by 3.5 years.
- Expected years of schooling increased by 4.5 years.
- India’s Gross National Income (GNI) increased by 273.9 %.
iv.India ranked in the top 3 countries for low unemployment rate and high number of seats held by women in local governance.
Ranks of Neighbouring Countries:
China ranked at 85, Pakistan ranked at 154, Bangladesh ranked at 133, United States ranked at 17.
India’s performance in other Indices:
i.India’s Gender Development Index (GDI) is 0.820, MultiDimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is 27.9.
ii.The Carbon dioxide emission, production emission per capita (tonne) is 2.
Biggest Displacement:
Cyclone Amphan which hit Bangladesh and India in 2020 caused the biggest displacement. It had triggered 3.3 million pre-emptive evacuations.
Key Points:
i.People who live in Developing countries particularly Asia are most vulnerable to rise in global sea levels.
ii.Prevalence of severe food insecurity is high among women in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
iii.The report stated that if global warming continues without reduction, the number of days in each year with extreme temperatures (below 0 Degree Celsius & above 35 Degree Celsius) will increase by 100 in low human development countries by 2100, if countries follow the Paris Agreement goals, it may increase by only 49%.
Recent Related News:
i.September 17, 2020, India was placed 116th position among 174 countries in the Human Capital Index 2020 in a report released by the World Bank.
ii.On 16th July 2020, The UN’s “The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index(MPI) 2020: Charting pathways out of multidimensional poverty: Achieving the SDGs” states that India records the largest reduction in the number of People living in poverty.
About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
Administrator – Achim Steiner
Headquarters – New York, United States of America (USA)
