The 2023/24 Human Development Report, titled ‘Breaking the gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarised world,’ released on March 13, underscores the pressing need to address global challenges amidst escalating inequality and political polarisation. Through an explainer format, let’s delve into key insights and findings from the report.
Q1: What does the Human Development Report highlight?
The report assesses the dangerous gridlock arising from uneven development progress, intensifying inequality, and escalating political polarisation. It emphasises the urgent need to tackle these issues and proposes a path forward where multilateralism plays a pivotal role.
Q2: How has India fared in the global Human Development Index (HDI)?
India has moved up a rank on the global Human Development Index, according to the UNDP report. While India ranked 135 in 2021, it climbed to 134 in 2022. However, India still ranks below its southern neighbour Sri Lanka and China, categorised under the High Human Development category.
Q3: What are some key indicators of India’s human development progress?
India’s life expectancy at birth slightly improved from 67.2 years in 2021 to 67.7 years in 2022. There’s also an overall increase in expected years of schooling, with an improvement in Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. Moreover, India demonstrated progress in reducing gender inequality.
Q4: How has India’s gender inequality performance been assessed?
India has shown remarkable progress in reducing gender inequality, with its Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.437 better than global and South Asian averages. The country’s performance in reproductive health surpasses other medium human development countries, with a declining adolescent birth rate.
Q5: What are the recent trends in India’s HDI value?
After a drop in HDI value in 2021, India’s HDI increased to 0.644 in 2022, placing it at 134 out of 193 countries. Despite this improvement, the report highlights a widening human development gap globally, indicating a reversal in the trend of reducing inequalities between wealthy and poor nations.
Q6: How does the report address global challenges amidst polarisation?
The report underscores the importance of investing in cooperation amidst increasing political polarisation and division. It warns that neglecting to invest in each other poses a serious threat to global wellbeing and security, advocating for collaborative approaches to address complex challenges such as climate change and digital regulation.