HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT, 2020

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Context

Recently the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released the Human Development Report, 2020. According to the report, India slipped two ranks in Human Development Index (HDI) this year, standing at 131 out of 189 countries. 

Key highlights of the report

• The Human development report 2020 consists of the Human development index for 2019. 

• In 2020, a human development report was generated under the theme “The Next Frontier: Human Development and Anthropocene”.

• Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland and Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland.

• China was ranked at 85th position and Pakistan was ranked at 154th position.

• For the first time, the UNDP incorporated a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint. This is known as Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI or PHDI. 

• It measured the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services.

• The report found that no country has yet been able to achieve a very high level of development without putting a huge strain on natural resources. 

India’s Performance

• India slipped two ranks in Human Development Index (HDI) this year, standing at 131 out of 189 countries.

• The HDI value of India for 2019 is 0.645, which positions our nation in the category of medium human development.

• If the HDI were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the ranking, as per the report.

• The report argues that only 13.5% women held seats in the parliament.

• Report noted that the labour force participation rate of women in the country was 20.5% whereas it was 76.1% for men.

• India was placed at 123rd position in the Gender Inequality Index.

• Report also stated that the difference in parents’ response towards girls and boys has led to higher malnutrition among girls.

• Indigenous children in India, Cambodia and Thailand show more malnutrition-related issues such as stunting and wasting.

• India ranked 5th for installed solar capacity in 2019. Solar capacity in India increased from 2.6 gigawatts in 2014 to 30 gigawatts in 2019.