Human Development Index

Human Development Index : Recently, India made notable progress in human development, rising three spots to rank 130 out of 193 countries in the 2023 Human Development Index (HDI), as per the United Nations Development Programme’s 2025 report.

o However, the country experienced a significant 30.7% reduction in its HDI score due to inequality, one of the highest losses in Asia.

• About HDI :Human Development or the human development approach – is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. 

  o It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices.

  o The human development approach, developed by the economist Mahbub Ul Haq, is anchored in the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s work on “human capabilities”, often framed in terms of whether people are able to “be” and “do” desirable things in life.

  o Human Development Index (HDI): It is a measurement system used by the United Nations to evaluate the level of individual human development in each country. 

  o Released by: United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

  o It measures the average achievement in key dimensions of human development: 

  ü A long and healthy life, 

  ü Being knowledgeable, and 

  ü Have a decent standard of living.