In 1990 Indian Economist Amartaya Sen & Mahbub ul Haq, a Pakistani Economist at the United Nations, introduced the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a composite Index of life expectancy at birth, Adult literacy rate and standard of living measured as a logarithmic function of GDP, adjusted to Purchasing power parity.

India climbed one spot to 130 out of 189 countries in the latest human development rankings released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Between 1990 and 2017, India’s HDI value incased from 0.427 to 0.640, an Increase of nearly 50 percent – and an indicator of the country’s remarkable achievement in lifting

Millions of people out of poverty.Human Development Reports (HDRs) have been released since 1990 and have explored different themes through the human development approach.

It’s published by the Human Development Report Office for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The HDI measures the average achievement of a country in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, education, and a decent standard of living.

It is calculated using four indicators — life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.

India ranked 132^nd among 191 countries and territories on the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI).

Switzerland (1, 0.962), Norway (2, 0.961), Iceland (3, 0.959), Denmark (6, 0.948), Sweden (7, 0.947), Ireland (8, 0.945), Germany (9, 0.942) and Netherlands (10, 0.941).

Asian Countries:

Indian neighbours, Sri Lanka (73^rd), China (79^th), Bangladesh (129^th), and Bhutan (127^th) are ranked above India, while Pakistan (161^st), Nepal (143^rd), and Myanmar (149^th)

Kerala stands first in Human Development Index among the states in India.

Tamil Nadu -11^th position

Least states – Bihar and Uttarpradesh

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index MPI 2022:

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2022 was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

Health:

1. Child mortality
2. Nutrition

Education:

1. Years of schooling
2. School attendance

Standard of living:

1. Cooking fuel
2. Sanitation
3. Drinking water
4. Electricity
5. Housing
6. Assets

India has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crore, followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crore.

Two-thirds of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived of nutrition.

As many as 41.5 crore people moved out of poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21.

India ranked 66 out of the 109 countries

NITI Aayog is in the last stage for preparation of Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) parameter dashboard and a State Reform Action Plan (SRAP).

It has three equally weighted dimensions – health, education, and standard of living.

These three dimensions are represented by 12 indicators such as nutrition, school attendance, years of schooling, drinking water, sanitation, housing, bank accounts

Across states and union territories in India, the fastest reduction in relative terms was in Goa, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

• Least poverty – kerala, Tamil Nadu [2^nd]
• Highest poverty – Bihar

Global Gender Gap Index 2022:

The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked India at 135 out of 146 countries in its Global Gender Gap (GGG) Index for 2022.

1. Parametres
2. Economic Participation and Opportunity
3. Educational Attainment
4. Health and Survival
5. Political Empowerment

Although no country achieved full gender parity, the top 3 economies closed at least 80% of their gender gaps,

1. Iceland (90.8%)
2. Finland (86%),
3. Norway (84.5%)

Gross National Happiness (GNH)

The term Gross National Happiness was coined in 1972 during an interview by a British Journalist for the Financial Times at Bombay airport when the then king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, said “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.

In 2011, The UN General Assembly passed Resolution “Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development” urging member nations to follow the example of Bhutan and measure happiness and well-being and calling happiness a “fundamental human goal.”

The four pillars of GNH’s are

1. Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
2. Environmental conservation
3. Preservation and promotion of culture
4. Good governance.

The nine domains of GNH are psychological well-being, health, time use, education, cultural Diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, And living standards.