Source: The Hindu – data point 15/8/23
Syllabus: GS1- Women Empowerment, GS2 – Governance, GS3 – Economics.
Context
Analysis of India’s relative performance in the past 76 years compared to other countries across four parameters — GDP per capita, Human Development Index (HDI), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and women’s participation in Parliament, on the occasion of 77th Independence day.
GDP per capita
- GDP per capita is a measure of the economic output of a nation per person.
- It is used to determine the prosperity of a nation by calculating the economic growth per person in that nation.
- It is also used to assess the standard of living and economic well-being of a country’s population.
- India’s GDP per capita for 2022 was $2,389, a 6.72% increase from 2021.
- It is in line with SDG goal 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.)
- The GDP per Capita in India is equivalent to 17 percent of the world’s average.
- However, India has the lowest GDP per capita when compared to the other four BRICS nations.
Reasons for low GDP per capita
- Rapid population growth that can lead to economic stagnation.
- Lack of quality education, health care that lowers income level.
- Unemployment and related problems
- Low Rates of Saving and Capital Accumulation (roads, structures, bridges, equipment )
Govt. efforts
- National infrastructure pipeline of projects, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, National Monetization Pipeline of public sector assets and National Logistics policy to increase capital assets.
- Atmanirbhar packages that Improve the standard of living and make the country and its citizens independent and self-reliant in all senses.
Human Development Index
- The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
- SDG goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.) and SDG goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) is focusing on improving it .
- India’s HDI increased by 0.11 points in 1950 to 0.633 in 2021.
- Of the five countries which lagged behind India in 1950, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Bangladesh moved ahead by 2021, with scores of 0.87, 0.7 and 0.66 respectively.
- The HDI Index of India is also low when compared to its neighbors like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, China.
| Country | HDI rank | HDI value |
| Pakistan | 161 | 0.544 |
| Nepal | 143 | 0.602 |
| India | 132 | 0.633 |
| Bangladesh | 129 | 0.661 |
| Bhutan | 127 | 0.666 |
| China | 79 | 0.768 |
| Sri Lanka | 73 | 0.782 |
Reasons for low HDI
- Inequality ( Gender and Income), Unemployment, Population explosion, low quality of education etc.
Govt efforts
- Ayushman Bharat yojana to provide a health cover of Rs. 5 lakh to families living below the poverty line.
- PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana to encourage skill development for youth by providing them a meaningful, industry relevant, skill based training.
- PMJJBY(Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana) to encourage insurance protection of poor and low-income sections of the society.
- MGNREGA to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed and underprivileged sections of society to help alleviate poverty.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
- The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.
- SDG Target 3.2 (End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age) aims to reduce IMR.
- The current infant mortality rate for India in 2023 is 26.619 deaths per 1000 live births, a 3.89% decline from 2022. The infant mortality rate for India in 2022 was 27.695 deaths per 1000 live births, a 3.74% decline from 2021.
- However,India’s IMR is worse than that of its neighbors, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka
Reasons for high IMR
- Under-funded, and non-responsive public health care system(India spends one of the lowest amounts of its GDP as a country on Healthcare)
- Low educational status, poor literacy, and inadequate government investment for health
- Poor quality of health infrastructure, issues related to antenatal care, maternal health, and postnatal care.
- Malnutrition, sanitation, and immunization problems
Govt. initiatives
- Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a demand promotion scheme which was launched in April 2005 with the objective of reducing Maternal and Infant Mortality
- India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) was launched in September 2014, for accelerating the reduction of preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths in the country – with the goal of attaining ‘Single Digit Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) by 2030 and ‘Single Digit StillBirth Rate (SBR) by 2030.
- Mission Indradhanush to ensure high coverage of children and pregnant women with all available vaccines throughout the country.
Women in Parliament
- Women’s participation in India increased from 7% in 1997-98 to 14.9% in 2022.
- It is in line with SDG 5 that aims to achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and any harmful practices against women and girls.
- However,In terms of representation, the numbers of women in politics in India are not promising. Women hold only 14% of the seats in the lower house of the Indian parliament and 12% in the upper house, significantly lower than in many other countries around the world.
Reasons for less representation of women
- One of the major reasons for the lack of women’s representation in Indian politics is the deeply ingrained patriarchal societal structure.
- Lack of access to financial resources to launch effective campaigns and win elections.
- Women politicians in India often face harassment and violence while campaigning, which can discourage them from entering the political arena.
Govt. initiatives
- Reservation of seats for women in panchayat Raj institutions
- Efforts to improve female literacy
- Introduction of Women’s Reservation Bill to reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women.
Way forward
- Adequate Govt investment in education, health,women Empowerment etc is needed.
- Enactment of Women’s Reservation Bill
- Strengthening public health,education and nutrition by effective implementation of already existing schemes and policies.
Related topics
GDP
- Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period by a country.
GNP
- Gross National Product (GNP) is the total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a given financial year, irrespective of their location
SDG
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
- The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
Reference
- https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/2023-08-15/th_chennai/articleG70BKBB3V-3912399.ece
- https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/IND/india/infant-mortality-rate#:~:text=The%20infant%20mortality%20rate%20for,a%203.61%25%20decline%20from%202020.
- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS
- https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-10179-an-analysis-women-in-politics.html
- https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI
- https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals