UN Women Post on 6th May 2025:HDI 2025:
India is strong in the field of human development, but challenges also remain
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UNDP India Women in India are being encouraged to play a leading role on sustainable development issues, especially those related to gender equality. (File photo) |
Despite the challenges, development continues in India. The picture given at the beginning of this post shows that there is happiness of economic achievements on the faces of these working women. There is also a glow of struggles. There is also a smile of standing on their own feet. It is a great thing that India has been recognized as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of pride for all of us Indians. India is the only lower-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. Unfortunately, such positive achievements are not generally discussed in the media as much as they should be. Now all this information has been given in the information received from the United Nations.
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A glimpse of the Human Development Report is also in this graph |
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report for the year 2025 indicates a decline in the global pace of human development this year. This decline is particularly evident in South Asia, but India has emerged as an exception in this region - where continuous progress has been seen in human development indicators. India has not only recorded significant improvements in the areas of health, education and income, but has also paved the way for inclusive and sustainable development through artificial intelligence (AI).
According to the Human Development Report titled “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI”, India's Human Development Index (HDI) has increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023.
With this, India has moved up from 133rd place to 130th place out of 193 countries in a year.
At the same time, India is moving closer to the threshold of high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700) while maintaining its place in the medium human development category.
India's HDI value has increased by 53% since 1990 - faster than the global and South Asian averages.
According to UNDP India representative Angela Lusigi, this progress reflects lasting improvements in average years of education, life expectancy, and national income per capita.
Role of AI
India has been identified as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of great pride in our times. Progress in this field is also a guarantee of success and prosperity in the times to come.
India is the only low-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. When the history of the coming future will be written, it will be remembered with great pride. This is a milestone in a way.
According to this report, the infrastructure related to AI in India is strong, and there is continuous investment in the field of skill development. The strengthening of AI related infrastructure in India shows a glimpse of a golden future. This is a clear indication that the pace of India's development is going to be faster now.
In this connection, another figure has come to the fore that while the number of AI researchers was almost negligible in the year 2019, now 20% of Indian people, AI researchers are working in the country itself. There is every possibility of their number increasing soon.
If we go into a little detail, AI is being used in various sectors in India - such as agriculture, healthcare and public distribution system. For example:
*AI is being used to provide insurance and loan related advice to farmers in their regional languages.
*A plan is being made to set up a national AI facility for researchers and new companies and industries.
*AI based inclusive skill development programs supported by UNDP are being run in states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Continuous improvement in health, education and income
Life expectancy in India was 58.6 years in 1990, which has now increased to 72 years in 2023 - the highest level since the inception of the HDI index.
There has also been improvement in the field of education. Now the average period of children staying in school in India has reached 13 years, whereas in 1990 it was only 8.2 years.
Steps like the Right to Education Act, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the new National Education Policy 2020 have played a significant role in this. However, there is still a need for improvement in the quality and outcomes of education.
On the economic front, India's per capita gross national income is projected to increase from $2167.22 in 1990 to $9046.76 in 2023 - an increase of more than four times.
This growth is attributed to broad economic reforms as well as social schemes such as MNREGA, Jan Dhan Yojana and digital inclusion.
This development has also had an impact on the lives of poor people. In particular, between 2015-16 and 2019-21, 135 million people have come out of multidimensional poverty, which is considered a major achievement.
The challenge of inequalities
However, according to the report, India has lost 30.7% in HDI due to indicators related to inequalities -one of the largest losses in the region.
While there has been some improvement in inequality in health and education, income and gender inequality remain widespread.
Women's participation and political representation, especially in the labour force, are still low. However, recent measures such as the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women offer hope for social and political change.
Global perspective and situation in South Asia
The report expresses concern about the slow pace of global human development. It is at the slowest pace since 1990.
If progress had been maintained before 2020, the world would have been on track to achieve high human development by 2030. But this goal is now at risk of being delayed by several decades.
The report also shows that inequalities between rich and poor countries are becoming increasingly deep.