1: Understanding the Human Development Index (HDI)

- The Human Development Index is a statistical tool used to measure the average achievements of a country in three basic life aspects, first published in 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

- Developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, the HDI is incorporated into the UNDP's Human Development Report.

- It comprises additional indices like Multidimensional Poverty Index, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Gender Inequality Index (since 2010) and Gender Development Index (since 2014).

- It adopts Amartya Sen's 'capabilities' approach, focusing on human well-being and quality of life over economical means.

2: India's Performance in HDI 2023-24

- India's ranking on the HDI improved to 134 out of 193 countries in 2022, compared to 135 out of 191 countries in the previous year.

- The country has experienced a 48.4% increase in its HDI value between 1990 and 2022.

- India's life expectancy at birth improved from 67.2 years in 2021 to 67.7 years in 2022.

- Expected years of schooling increased by 5.88% from 11.9 to 12.6 years, resulting in an 18-position improvement.

- The Gross National Income (GNI) per capita also saw a growth from $6,542 to $6,951.

3: India vis-à-vis Neighbour Countries in HDI

- India's neighbours Sri Lanka and China have better rankings at 78th and 75th positions respectively, both in the high human development category.

- Bhutan and Bangladesh stand at 125 and 129 respectively while Nepal and Pakistan rank lower than India at 146 and 164.

4: India's Progress in Gender Inequality

- India showed significant progress in reducing gender inequality, ranking 108th out of 166 countries in Gender Inequality Index (GII) in 2022.

- India's GII value of 0.437 betters both the global average (0.462) and the South Asian average (0.478), indicating better performance in reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market.

- India's adolescent birth rate in 2022 stood at 16.3, improving from 17.1 in 2021.

- However, India continues to have a large gender gap in the labour force of 47.8 percentage - men (76.1%) and women (28.3%).

5: Recommendations by Human Development Report

- The Human Development Report stresses on the need for strengthening commitment towards a shared future.

- Focuses on planetary public goods for climate stability, digital public goods for equitable human development, new financial mechanisms, and efforts to reduce political polarisation through governance focused on enhancing citizens' voices and tackling misinformation.