This year’s United Nations’ Human Development Report — an annual evaluation of the social and the economic development of countries — has indicated a worrying trend. According to HDR 2025, the global progress in human development is currently experiencing an unprecedented slowdown. India has made minimal progress, climbing three spots on the Human Development Index from its 2022 score, to rank 130 out of 193 countries. India’s improved performance in three key sectors — health, education and standard of living — is believed to be behind this improvement. While India’s life expectancy rose from 58.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023 — the highest ever recorded — the average years of schooling have registered an increase as well — from 8.2 in 1990 to 13 in 2023. Further, the gross national income per capita surged over fourfold in the span of these 35 years. These gains, coming on the back of three deadly years of the pandemic, are laudable. Significantly, several flagship welfare programmes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right To Education Act, have been attributed as the drivers of development. These programmes must be further fortified and not weakened by starving them of funds or changes in rules.
The progress made must not deflect attention from the challenges that persist. India still ranks at the bottom third on the HDI. Its value, 0.685, is the same as that of Bangladesh and lower than that of its other neighbours, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Rising inequality is another impediment to progress. The report shows that income and gender disparity have pulled down India’s HDI score by 30.7%. This massive loss can derail the government’s vision of making Bharat viksit in the true sense of the term. Measures to strive for an equitable society, supplemented by gender-inclusive policies that will not only increase women’s participation but also ensure that they remain in the workforce, along with further improvements in public health and education, hold the key.