Why India is Not Able To Do What China Has Pulled Off

Context: The recent announcement by Xi Jinping for China to have abolished poverty shines a light on the comparative human developmental challenges in India.

India vs China: An overview

• Divergence: India and China were at comparable levels of development and income 40 years ago.
  • China has 2.7 times India’s per capita income (in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars)
  • China reached India’s current per capita income and Human Development score 15 years ago.
  • United Nations index for Sustainable Development Goals (with 17 parameters), India is unlikely to get to China’s current index level for another decade.
• Pandemic drag: Even in the pandemic year, China continued to grow despite the negative dip in India and the world.

India’s achievement story

• No longer the country with the largest number of absolutely poor people.
• Steadily improving score on the Human Development Index.
• Economic Survey 2020-21 has pointed out by using a Bare Necessities Index (a composite of water supply, electricity, sanitation, housing, etc.), the picture has improved quite noticeably in recent years.

Concerns and Bottlenecks

• Data related issues
  • 2017-18 personal consumption survey withheld on the grounds of reliability, but leaked numbers suggest a decline from the level six years earlier.
  • Last detailed poverty headcount numbers go back almost a decade.
• Loss of momentum: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) numbers showed a dip in the employment rate even before the pandemic.
• Low development indicators than developing peers: Sustainable development goals, India ranked 117 in 2019, below neighbours like Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.