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CH 28

Human development measures overall quality of life through indicators like health, education, and standard of living. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure used by the UN to rank countries on these dimensions. The document discusses the concept of human development and how it differs from purely economic measures of development. It outlines the indicators used in the HDI (life expectancy, education, income) and other related indices like the Human Poverty Index. India's HDI ranking and progress is analyzed along with differences across Indian states. Reasons for prioritizing human development are provided, including improving lives, productivity, environment, and political stability.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
111 views16 pages

CH 28

Human development measures overall quality of life through indicators like health, education, and standard of living. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure used by the UN to rank countries on these dimensions. The document discusses the concept of human development and how it differs from purely economic measures of development. It outlines the indicators used in the HDI (life expectancy, education, income) and other related indices like the Human Poverty Index. India's HDI ranking and progress is analyzed along with differences across Indian states. Reasons for prioritizing human development are provided, including improving lives, productivity, environment, and political stability.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Human Development MODULE - 9

Human resource
development in India

28
Notes
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Whenever, we think about development, we normally tend to think about the


material and economic development. Materials may include house, landed prop-
erty, motor vehicle, jewellery etc. Again all these material assets are converted in
terms of money, whenever or wherever the need arises. Till today, the entire
world is divided into two groups of countries - developed and developing. This
classification is mostly based on level of economic development. Though this
trend is still continuing but a change in thinking about development was intro-
duced and that was a change in emphasis on measurement of development from
purely economic to human. In 1990 two economists - Prof. Mehbub Al Haque
and Prof. Amartya Sen introduced the concept of Human Development. From
1990 onwards, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), each year
calculate Human Development Index (HDI) and publish as a report which is
known as Human Development Report (HDR). This report, is published each
year in which almost all the countries are placed under three categories, high,
medium and low based on the defined parameters.
In this lesson, we will learn about the concept and process of measuring human
development index. We will also find out India’s position among the various
countries in the world. Simultaneously, we will also analyse position of various
states of India as far as human development index is concerned. At the end, we
will suggest certain measures to improve human development in our country.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
 define the term human development;
 explain the term human development index;
 describe the regional patterns of human development index in the states of
India; and
 highlight the need for improvement in human development index in Indian
contex.
GEOGRAPHY 285
MODULE - 9 Human Development
Human resource
development in India 28.1 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the
average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human develop-
ment. These basic dimensions are a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent
standard of living. The above mentioned dimensions are measured by the follow-
ing indicators.
Notes
1. A long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy at birth
2. Knowledge is measured by the adult literacy rate (with two thirds weight)
and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (with
one third weight)
3. A decent standard of living is measured by GDP per capita in purchasing
Power Parity (PPP) US Dollars.
But we should know that the purpose of its construction is not to give a complete
picture of human development rather to provide a measure which goes beyond
the traditional measurement of development i.e income. Therefore, HDI is a ba-
rometer for changes in human well-being and for comparing progress in different
regions. Human development concept is based on the idea of development as a
freedom. It is about building human capabilities - the range of things they can do
and what they can be. Individual freedoms and rights matter a great deal. But
these freedoms and rights are restricted for some because they are poor, ill, illiter-
ate, discriminated against, threatened by violent conflict, or denied a political voice,
etc. That is why in the inagural issue of Human Development Report - 1990, the
authors defined these above mentioned indicators as essential choices and the
absence of which can block many other opportunities. Therefore, they defined
human development as a process of widening people’s choices as well as raising
the level of well-being”. To achieve this there is a need for re-orientation of our
process of development. In other words, development must revolve around the
people, not people around the development.
The basic difference between economic development and human development is
that economic development entirely focuses on the increase of income whereas
the human development believes in expanding and widening of all aspects of hu-
man life be it economic, social, political, cultural, etc. In economic aspect human
development is one of the essential elements. The basic idea behind this is that it is
the use of income and not the income itself that decides the human choices. Since,
the real wealth of a nation is its people, therfore, the goal of development should
be the enrichment of human life.
Apart from Human Development Index (HDI), the other four indicators of human
development have been selected which were used by the Human Development
Report. These are:
(i) Human Poverty Index for developing countries (HPI-1)

286 GEOGRAPHY
Human Development MODULE - 9
Human resource
(ii) Human Poverty Index for selected DECD Countries (HPI-2) development in India
(iii) Gender - related Development Index (GDI)
(iv) Gender Empowered Measurement (GEM)
Out of these given, HDI, HPI-1 and GDI are calculated by three common dimen-
sions - a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. But
some of indicators are different within these dimensions. Let us know their simi- Notes
larities and differences from the table given below.
Table No. 28.1: A comparative analysis of Dimensions used
in HDI, HPI-1 and GDI
Sl. Indices HDI HPI-1 GDI
No.

1. A long and  Life expectancy at birth  Probability at birth of  Life expectancy at birth
healthy life not swimming at age 40

2. Knowledge  Adult literacy rate  Adult literacy rate  Adult literacy rate
(with two third
weight) and
 The combined primary,  Percentage of the  Combined primary,
secondary and gross population without secondary and tertiary
enrolment (with one sustainable access gross enrolment ratio
third weight) to an improved water
source

3. A decent  GDP per capita (adju-  The percentage of  Estimated earned


standard of sted to purchasing power children under weight income (PPP in US $)
living parity in US$) for age of one year.

28.2 WHY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT


Paul Streeten, a development economist identified six reasons in favour of the
human development. The reasons are as follows:
1. The ultimate purpose of the entire exercise of development is to improve the
human conditions and to enlarge people’s choice.
2. Human development is a means to higher productivity. A well nourished,
healthy, educated, skilled alert labour force is the most productive asset.
Therefore investments in these sectors are justified on ground of productivity.
3. It helps in reducing the rate of growth of population.
4. Human development is friendly to the physical environment also. Deforesta-
tion, desertification and soil erosion decline when poverty declines.
5. Improved living conditions and reduced poverty contribute to a healthy civil
society and greater social stability.
6. Human development also helps in reducing civil disturbance in the society
and in increasing political stabililty.

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Human resource
development in India Till now you might have understood the importance of human development. Let us
now have a closer look at India’s position at international level as far as human
development is concerned. We will also try to find out the reasons for low levels of
human development in India
28.3 INDIA : TRENDS OF HDI

Notes According to Human Development Report 2005, India’s rank was 127 out of
177 countries of the world. All the 177 countries are grouped under three catego-
ries. These are high, medium and low. The countries which had value between
0.800 and above are termed as high. The countries which had value between
0.500 to 0.799 were ranked under medium categories and countries which had
value less than 0.500 were ranked as low human development countries. India
was placed almost at the bottom of the table in the medium level category. Our
neighbouring countries like China (85), Sri Lanka (93), Maldives (96) remained
well above the India’s position. Other neighbouring countries like Myanamar (129),
Bhutan (134), Pakistan (135) and Nepal (136) were placed just below India. The
countries which lied below India were mostly from Africa and rest few countries
were from Asia. If we look at India’s situation over the time we can definitely say
that it has improved a lot over the last thirty years (Table 28.2)
Table No. 28.2: INDIA : Human Development Index Trends
in India 1975 - 2005
Years 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

India 0.412 0.438 0.476 0.513 0.546 0.577 0.602

Source: Human Development Report, 2005, p.225

This improvement is not sufficient enough. There are many small countries of Asia
and Africa like Fiji, Mongolia, Tunisia, etc. are well above India. India has to
work very hard to be placed among the top countries in the medium human devel-
opment category (0.501 - 0.800). If the present trend continues it needs minimum
30 years to enter the high human development category. And for this, a rigorous
effort particularly in the social sector like education, health and economic sector
particularly reduction of poverty are required. The following are the reasons to
keep India at the bottom of human development (a) rapid increase in population
(b) large number of adult illiterates and low gross enrolment ratio (c) high drop-
out rates (d) inadequate government expenditure on education and health, (e)
large proportion of under weight children as well as under nourished people (f)
very poor sanitation facilities and low access to essential life saving medicines.
Apart from HDI, the performance of India is also not very encouraging as far as
Gender Development Index (GDI) and Human Poverty Index (HDI) are con-
cerned. According to Human Development Report, 2005, India’s position in GDI
was 98 out of 140 countries and in HPI-1 was 58 out of 103 countries.

288 GEOGRAPHY
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Human resource
development in India

INTEXT QUESTIONS 28.1


1. What is Human Development Index?
________________________________________________________
2. Name the three dimensions and their respective indicator used for measuring Notes
HDI.
(i) ___________________________________________________
(ii) ___________________________________________________
(iii) ___________________________________________________
3. Differentiate between human development and economic development
________________________________________________________
4. How do we measure Human Poverty Index (HPI-1)for developing countries
(HPI -1)
(i) ___________________________________________________
(ii) ___________________________________________________
(iii) ___________________________________________________
5. What is India’s position in Human Development Index according to Human
Development Report - 2005. Name any two neighbouring countries of India
who are doing better than India.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

28.4 SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS


Let us now have a brief discussion about the various socio-economic indicators of
India that are responsible for human development. As mentioned earlier, we will
discuss health and education under social indicators and general economy with
reference to per capital income and poverty.
Health Situations in India
As you know health is one of the three dimensions of human development. Though
under health life expectancy is considered as the indicator, but we should know
other health related demographic indicators like birth rate, death rate, total fertility
rate, infant mortality rate, etc as well as about health facilities like hospital, dispen-
sary, beds in the hospital, number of doctors and nurses, etc. to have a holistic
GEOGRAPHY 289
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Human resource
development in India view about the health situation in the country. Definitely, today the health situation
has improved a lot since Independence.
Today, there have been significant demographic changes and epidemological shifts
have occurred. India has been able to control various communicable diseases.
However, under communicable diseases Vector Born Disease and AIDS continue
to be critical areas of concern. With the decline in death rates, increase in life
Notes expectancy and changing life styles, there has been an increase in non-communicable
diseases like cardio-vascular ailments, cancer, cataract induced blindness, diabetes
etc. In all the above mentioned diseases, the disease of AIDS pose unique challenge,
because no cure is available for till today. Secondly, India ranks second in the
world, next only to South Africa with an estimated population of 5.206 million
persons infected by HIV/AIDS by December 2005. Recently, according to
UNAIDS estimate, India has the largest number of HIV/AIDS population,
surpassing South Africa. Though India is placed among the list of low prevalence
country, our problem is the large population base. Specifically in the active
reproductive age group of 15-49 years. You can find out the total number of
infected persons from the age-composition table no 27.3 in the previous lesson. If
we really want young people to prevent HIV infection, we have to enhance our life
skills in the following ways.
 Understand and feel good about yourself. Have faith in yourself. Understand
your own strengths and weaknesses. Maintain your self-respect and self-
confidence.
 Be positive in your attitude towards life. Be ready to learn from experiences
even if they are not pleasant.
 In difficult situations, try to identify the cause of the problem. Identify the best
solutions available and then follow them.
 Share your concerns with others and seek timely help when needed.
 Adopt a healthy lifestyle.
 Make responsible decisions.
 Seek reliable information and make informed choices and decisions.
 Think of the consequences of your decisions and actions, do not act hastily
and impulsively.
 Learn from the experiences of others; we can benefit from the mistakes of
others.
 Manage your stress by sharing your concerns with others and by seeking help
from parents, teachers, friends, and counselors.
 Have the courage to say ‘no’ to peer pressure.
 Be caring and empathetic towards people who need special care such as
people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
 Seek out and share information on sensitive reproductive health issues.

290 GEOGRAPHY
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Human resource
Study the following table to know health related indicators. development in India

Table 28.3: INDIA : Selected Health Indicators (1951–2003)


Sl.No. Indicator 1951 2003
1. Birth Rate (per thousand) 40.8 24.8
2. Death Rate (per thousand) 25.1 8.0 Notes
3. Infant Mortality Rate 146 60
(per thousand live births) (1951-61)*
4. Child (0-4 years) Mortality 57.3 17.8
Rate (per thousand children) (1972)* (2002)*
5. Total Fertility Rate 6.0 3.0
(2001)*
6. Life Expectancy Rate (Male) 37.2 63.9 (2001-06)*
(Female) 36.2 66.9 (2001-06)*

Source: Economic Survey 2005-06, Ministry of Finance, Govt of India, p-25

Note: The figure given in the brackets refer to the year which is different from the
reference year mentioned in the particular columns of the table

I am sure you have read the table carefully. As we said earlier that there has been
significant improvement in each health indicator. But the desired result has not
been achieved in reducing birth rate, infant mortality rate as well as total fertility
rate. There is a need for sustained effort particularly in remote rural areas where
health care system is almost non-functional. As far as health care facilities in the
country are concerned it has increased in leaps and bounds.
Table 28.4: INDIA : Trends in Health Care Facilities 1951-2004
Sl.No. Facilities 1951 2004
1. Sub centre, Primary Health centre, 725 1,68,986
Community Health Centre
2. Dispensaries and Hospitals 9,209 38,031 (2002)
3. Beds (Private and Public) 1,17,198 9,14,543 (2002)
4. Nursing Personnel 18,054 8,36,000
5. Doctors (Modern System) 61,800 6,25,131
Source: Economic Survey 2005-06, Ministry of Finance, Govt of India, p-212.

During 50 years (1951-2001) population has increased alarmingly from 36.10


crores to 102.70 crores. Simultaneously number of patients as well as problems
GEOGRAPHY 291
MODULE - 9 Human Development
Human resource
development in India related to birth, infant child and mother care has increased significantly. Therefore
the health system is still at cross roads with a wide gap between demand and
supply. Therefore the health system is still at cross roads with a wide gap between
demand and supply. Looking at the distribution of medical facilities we find there is
highly unequal distribution and most of the facilities are concentrated around ma-
jor cities and towns. To reduce the inequality Government of India started an
Notes ambition project of National Rural Health Mission. (NRHM). This programme
was launched on April 12, 2005 for a period of 7 years. The vision and target
outcome of NRHM is given below. A part from NRHM, Government of India has
also launched many programmes related to health aspect of women and children
like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY) and Kishori
Shakti Yojna (KSY) etc.
Table 28.5: National Rural Health Mission (NRHM):
Vision and Target Outcome
Vision of NRHM Target outcome
 To be implemented throughout  IMR to be reduced zero per thousand
the country with special focus on live births by 2012
18 states with weak public health
indicators and/or weak
infrastructure
 To improve the availability  IMR to be reduced to 100 per
and access to quality health care 100,000 live births by 2012
 To build synergy between health  TFR reduced to 2.1 by 2012
and determinants of good health like  Malaria mortality to be reduced
nutritions, sanitation, hygiene and by 50% by 2010 and 60% by 2012
safe drinking water  A complete elimination of Kala Azar
mortality by 2010
 To streamline the Indian Systems  Filaria to be reduced by 70% by 2010,
of Medicine to facilitate compreh- 80% by 2012 and complete
ensive health care elimination by 2015

 To increase the absorptive capacity  Dengue mortality to be reduced by


of the health delivery system to en- 50% by 2010 and sustaining it at that
able it to handle increased allocations. level till 2012
 To involve the community over the  Cataract operations increasing to
planning process. 46 lakh per annum.
 To upgradate the infrastructure  Leprosy prevalence rate to be reduced
from 1.8. per 10,000 in 2005 to less
than 1 per 10,000 thereafter
 To assist in capacity building  TB DOTS series - Maintains 85%
 To increase the fund allocation cure rate through entire mission
for health sector. period

Source: Economic survey, 2005-06, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, p-217


292 GEOGRAPHY
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Human resource
Knowledge Indicators development in India

Knowledge is always considered as power that empowers human being in various


ways. An individual with certain levels of knowledge will have economic freedom
and will have wide choice for growth and development. Today’s soceity is moving
towards knowledge society and a major chunk of population derived their suste-
nance that is based on knowledge economy. Due to these factors, knowledge was
considered as one of the integral parts of human development index. But knowl- Notes
edge is a qualitative aspect and has many dimensions to it. In HDI two dimensions
of knowledge were taken into consideration. As mentioned earlier, they are (a)
adult literacy rate and (b) combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enroll-
ment ratio.
Therefore, in this lesson, we will not discuss about the trend and regional patterns
of literacy rather we will specifically discussed about adult literacy. It’s because of
the fact that we have already discussed about literacy in details in the lesson no-
27. The other fact for detailed discussion about adult literacy is that it is taken as
one of the indicators to measure the knowledge component. According to NSSO
52nd Round (1995-96) and as reported in selected Educational Statistics (1997-
98), 54.38% of adults are literate. According to the Human Development Report
2005, the adult literacy in India, is 61.0% in 2003. But if we make statewise
analysis, the pattern has not changed much.
The regional pattern of adult literacy varies considerably. It may be observed that
states below the national average are Bihar (including Jharkhand), Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh (including Uttaranchal), Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh (including Chhatisgarh), Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa. Therefore, there
is a need for improvement of adult literacy in these states.
Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER)
It indicates the proportion between the total number of learners in a particular age
group that are supposed to be in that particular class and classes the total number
of actual learners enrolled in that particular class/classes. Sometimes GER is more
than 100% due to admission of below the age group and above the age group in
that class/classes. In HDI, aggregate GER of primary, secondary and tertiary edu-
cation is calculated. Here we will restrict our discussion about GER of primary
education (from Ist to Vth class).
According to Economic Survey, 2005-06 the GER has increased progressively
from 32.1% in 1950-51 to 84.91 in 2003-04 in the age groups of 6-14 (from Ist
to Vth class). Simultaneously drop-out rates at primary level declined from 39.0%
in 2001-02 to 31.4% in 2003-04. As on October 2005, number of out of school
children, as reported by states/UTs was reduced to 95 lakh from 320 lakh in
2001. But still 95 lakh out of school children at primary level is a very high number.
If we look at state-wise GER, it has been found that it varies from 116.77% in
Manipur to 55.82% in Bihar. The states which have GER below the national

GEOGRAPHY 293
MODULE - 9 Human Development
Human resource
development in India average are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Punjab,
Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Nagaland.
To improve the educational attainment particularly enrollment and retention at el-
ementary level and reduce the adult illiteracy Government of India has started
various new programmes and also strengthened existing programmes.

Notes Economic Indicators


Human development has also placed a great significance to economic productivity
and growth. This provides means to progress apart from education and health.
Economic growth is generally found out with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
Gross National Product (GNP), per capita income, etc. Here we won’t discuss in
details all these above mentioned economic indicators but we will discuss only
about per-capita income.
According to Economic Survey 2005-06, per-capita income has increased from
Rs 3,687 in 1950-51 to Rs 19,649 in 2004-05. Though per-capita income has
increased significantly but disparities are very wide both at region level and local
levels. Even at the rural and urban levels there exists very high disparity in per
capita income. Such variation is also reflected through those persons who are
below the poverty line.
Poverty is not only an economic phenomena but also social and psychological
deprivation. This is reflected through poor quality of life, malnutrition, low human
development, etc. According to Planning Commission estimate in 1999-2000,
there were 26.10% of population living below poverty line. This ratio is 27.09% in
rural areas and 23.62% in urban areas. While rural poverty is linked with landless
and marginal farmers, urban poverty is expressed in terms of sprawling slums in
cities. The states with population below the poverty line from the national average
include Orissa, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Madhya Pradesh (including
Chhatisgarh), Uttar Pradesh (including Uttarakhand), all the north-eastern states
except Mizoram and West Bengal.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 28.2


1. Name the three demographic indicators which need to be improved to achieve
the desired result.
(i) ___________________________________________________
(ii) ___________________________________________________
(iii) ___________________________________________________
2. Name any three health programmes related to women and children launched
by Government of India.
(i) ___________________________________________________
294 GEOGRAPHY
Human Development MODULE - 9
Human resource
(ii) ___________________________________________________ development in India

(iii) ___________________________________________________
3. Define Gross Enrollment Ratio
_______________________________________________________.
4. Name any three states in which people are living below poverty line. Notes
(i) ___________________________________________________
(ii) ___________________________________________________
(iii) ___________________________________________________

28.5 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX - A STATE LEVEL ANALYSIS


In accordance with UNDP Human Development Report, the Planning Commis-
sion of India came out with a similar kind of report in 2001. The report analysed
human development situation in major states of India which include the then undi-
vided Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the given Table : 28.6. HDI
values of India as well as 16 selected major states are given below.
Table No. 28.6 : India : Human Development Index
of Major States, 2001
States HDI
Andhra Pradesh 0.416
Assam 0.386
Bihar 0.367
Gujarat 0.479
Haryana 0.509
Karnataka 0.478
Kerala 0.638
Madhya Pradesh 0.394
Maharashtra 0.523
Orissa 0.404
Punjab 0.537
Rajasthan 0.424
Tamil Nadu 0.531
Uttar Pradesh 0.388
West Bengal 0.472
India 0.472
Source: National Human Development Report, 2001, P.25

GEOGRAPHY 295
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Human resource
development in India If we analyse the pattern given in the above Table 28.6, it is concluded that there
is a north south divide barring a few exceptions. All the southern Indian states are
doing well except Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand most of northern states
except Punjab and Haryana are doing badly in human development index. These
northern states are given an accronym “BIMARU” (whcih stands for Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). Apart from north-south divide, there ex-
Notes ists a east - west divide also. Western states like Gujarat and Maharashtra are
doing fairly well in comparision to eastern states – Orissa, and Assam. Both these
states are below national average. West Bengal is exactly positioned at the na-
tional average. Therefore there is a need to pay a greater attention to those states
which are not doing well in HDI. An efforts should be made in these states to
improve human development index.

In the following paragraphs we will make a detailed discussion at the states level in
India based on the development radars suggested in the National Human Devel-
opment Report - 2001 prepared by Planning Commission of India. Development
Radars are diagrammatic representation of progress in HDI prepared, separately
for rural and urban areas on eight distinct social indicators for two points of time,
i.e. early 1980 and early 1990. Development Radars were constructed for all the
states. The indicators have been included with a view to reflect attainments on
three critical dimensions of well being - longevity, education and command over
resources. At the same time development radar (DR) highlights the progress in
meeting out the basic human needs of accessibility to safe drinking water and
shelter. The social indicators selected for the construction of Development Radars
(DR) are as follows;
(i) Per-capita consumption expenditure.

(ii) Incidence of poverty as captured by the head count ratio.

(iii) Access of safe drinking water.


(iv) Proportion of households with pucca houses.
(v) Literacy rate for the age group of 7 years and above.
(vi) Intensity of formal education (indicators based on weighted enrolment in suc-
cessive classes adjusted for non enrolled children in the age group of 6–18
years)
(vii) Life expectancy at the age of one year; and
(viii) Infant mortality rates.

The indicators scale through a magnitude from zero to five. Here, zero corre-
sponding to least achievement while five given to maximum achievement.

296 GEOGRAPHY
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Human resource
development in India

INTEXT QUESTIONS 28.3


1. Name any three states of northern India which are below national average in
HDI.
________________________________________________________
Notes
2. What is Development Radar.
________________________________________________________
3. In which two indicators still substantial gaps are there as far as rural - urban
differences are concerned.
________________________________________________________

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT


The concept of Human Development Index (HDI) was propounded by Prof
Mehbub Al Haque and Prof. Amartya Sen in 1990. From 1990 onwards Human
Development Report is published by UNDP annually which reflects the status of
human development in almost all the countries across the world. HDI is a com-
posite index that measures the average achievements in a country in three basic
dimensions of human development. They are long and healthy life, knowledge and
decent standards of living. They basic difference between economic development
and human development is that economic development entirely focusses on the
increase of income whereas the human development stresses in expanding and
widening of all aspects of human life. In HDI, economic condition is one of the
essential elements. Apart from HDI, various types of indices are constructed and
published by UNDP. Some of the important indices are Human Poverty Index,
Gender Development Index, Gender Empowered Measurement index, etc.
According to Human Development Report - 2005, India’s rank is 127th almost at
the bottom of the table in the medium level category. The reasons which keep
India at the bottom of human development are rapid increase in population, large
number of adult illiterates, low Gross Enrollment Ratio, inadequate government
expenditure on education and health, large proportion of under - weight children
as well as under nourished people, very poor sanitation facilities and low access to
essential life saving medicines etc. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve in
health situation, educational attainment and increased standard of living and re-
duction of poverty level. If we look at the situation since independence to till date,
we find that there has been a significant improvement. However there has been
increases in HIV/AIDS patients to check the menace of HIV/AIDS, the
youngesters have been suggested to develop certain life skills. But there is a need
for further improvement. To improve the situation, the Government of India has
implemented many programmes such as massive project like National Rural Health
GEOGRAPHY 297
MODULE - 9 Human Development
Human resource
development in India Mission, Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
etc.
In accordance with UNDP Human Development Report, Planning Commission
of India came out with a similar kind of Report titled “National Human Develop-
ment Report.” In this report HDI of fifteen major states were calculated. The state
of Kerala has highest HDI whereas the state of Bihar has the lowest HDI. Apart
Notes from that the Planning Commission has constructed Development Radar. The
Development Radar is a diagramatic representation of progress of states as a
whole and for rural and urban areas separately. The Development Radar has been
calculated based on eight distinct social indicators for two points of time.

TERMINAL QUESTIONS
1. Differentiate among Human Development Index, Human Poverty Index and
Gender Development Index.
2. Explain any four reasons in favour of the human development.
3. Describe any four visions envisaged in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)
implemented by Government of India.
4. Write any four factors responsible for keeping India almost at the bottom of
human development index table.

ANSWER TO INTEXT QUESTIONS


28.1
1. The Human Development Index is a composite index that measures the av-
erage achievements of a country in three basic dimensions of human devel-
opment such as long and healthy life, knowledge and decent standard of
living.
2. (i) Long and healthy life measured by life expectancy at birth.
(ii) Knowledge is measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined
primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio.
(iii) A decent standard of living is measured by DGP per-capita purchasing
power parity in US Dollar.
3. Economic development entirely focusses on the increase of income. The hu-
man development stresses in expanding and widening of all aspects of human
life.
4. (i) Probability at birth of not swimming at the age of 40
(ii) Adult literacy rate
298 GEOGRAPHY
Human Development MODULE - 9
Human resource
(iii) (a) Percentage of the population without sustainable access to an development in India
improved water source (b) the percentage of children underweight
for age of one year.
5. 127 out of 174 countries. Neighbouring countries who are doing better
than India are China, Sri Lanka and Maldives (Any two)
28.2 Notes
1. (i) Birth Rate (ii) Infant Mortality Rate (iii) Total Fertility Rate
2. (i) National Rural Health Mission (ii) Janani Suraksha Yojna (iii) Balika
Samridhi Yojna (iv) Kishori Shakti Yojna (Any three)
3. Gross Enrollment Ratio indicates the proportion between the total number
of leaners in a particular age group that are supposed to be in that particular
class/classes and that total number of actual learners enrolled in that par-
ticular class/classes
4. (i) Bihar (including Jharkhand), (ii) Orissa (iii) Madhya Pradesh (including
Chhatisgarh) (iv) Uttar Pradesh (including Uttarkhand) (v) Assam (vi) West
Bengal (vii) Meghalaya (viii) Manipur (ix) Nagaland (x) Tripura, (xi)Sikkim
(xii) Arunachal Pradesh (Any three)

28.3

1. (i) Bihar (ii) Madhya Pradesh (iii) Uttar Pradesh (iv) Rajasthan (Any three)
2. Development Radars are diagramatic representation of progress of states
separately for rural and urban areas on eight distinct social indicators for
two points of time namely early 1980 and early 1990.
3. (i) per-capita expenditure (ii) poverty

HINTS TO TERMINAL QUESTIONS


1. Basically all the indices (i.e. HDI, HPI and GDI) are calculated on three
common dimensions: a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent
standard of living. However some indicators are different within these
dimensions. HDI is a composite index of life expectancy at the birth; adult
literacy rate; the combined primary, secondary and enrollment; and lastly,
GDP per capita income. HPI is a composite index of probability at birth;
adult literacy rate; percentage of population without sustainable access to
safe drinking water; and lastly, percentage of children underweight for age
of one year. HDI is a composite index of life expectancy at birth; adult
literacy rate; combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment
ratio; and lastly, estimated earned income.

GEOGRAPHY 299
MODULE - 9 Human Development
Human resource
development in India 2. Refer to section 28.2
3. Refer to table 28.5
4. Refer to section 28.3

Notes
Point to Ponder

Healthy diet during adolescence


Both girls and boys need a nutritious diet during
adolescence because this is a particularly important
phase when their bodies are undergoing tremendous
changes. It is important to take calcium and iron
supplements to help this growth spurt during
adolescence.
Since girls are more prone to anaemia (iron deficiency)
resulting from menstruation, they require more iron
supplementation in their diet. To prevent or cure
anaemia, girls should cat iron-rich foods such as meat,
liver, and leafy green vegetables, or they should get
a prescription for iron tablets from the doctor.
Anaemia causes even more problems during teenage
pregnancy, which in turn can lead to further
anaemia.

300 GEOGRAPHY

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