Human Development Report 2025

 

1.  Human Development Report (HDR) is Published by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
2.  Frequency: Annual
3. 1st introduced: In 1990, in the first Human Development Report authored by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.
4. Purpose: Evaluates countries based on Human Development Index (HDI), which includes:
   1. Health (life expectancy)
   2. Education (mean and expected years of schooling)
   3. Income (Gross National Income per capita)

5.  This Year’s Report Title: “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI”
   1. The key message is that human development progress has stalled, with inequality becoming a major barrier to further advancements.
6.  India’s HDI Rank: 130th out of 193 countries and territories
7.  HDI Value: 0.685

8. India is classified under the medium human development category but is approaching the threshold for high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700).

Global Highlights – HDR 2025

Global HDI Trend	Smallest increase since 1990 (excluding 2020–21 pandemic period).
Top Rank	Iceland – HDI of 0.972
Bottom Rank	South Sudan – HDI of 0.388
Inequality	Widening gap between high-HDI and low-HDI nations.
AI & Work	1 in 5 people use AI; 60% optimistic about jobs, 50% fear job loss.
Key Message	Need for human-centered AI governance to avoid deepening inequality.

India-Specific Highlights :

Key Areas of Progress in India:

1. Life Expectancy: Life expectancy has risen from 58.6 years (1990) to 72 years (2023), reflecting the success of national health programs like:
   1. National Health Mission (NHM)
   2. Ayushman Bharat
   3. Janani Suraksha Yojana
   4. Poshan Abhiyaan
2. Education:
   1. Mean Years of Schooling: Increased from 8.2 years (1990) to 13 years (2023).
   2. Programs:
      • Right to Education Act (2009)
      • National Education Policy (2020)
      • Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
   3. Challenges: Access to education has improved, but quality and learning outcomes still need significant improvement.
3. National Income:
   1. Gross National Income (GNI) per capita has risen over fourfold from USD 2,167 (1990) to USD 9,046 (2023) (in 2021 Purchasing Power Parity terms).
4. Poverty Reduction: Between 2015–16 and 2019–21, 135 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty.
5.  India’s AI Progress:
   1. India is emerging as a global AI leader, with the highest self-reported AI skills penetration.
   2. In the Global AI Index, India ranks 4th among 36 evaluated countries, making it the only lower-middle-income country in the top 10.
   3. 20% of AI researchers now stay in India, compared to nearly zero in 2019.
   4.  Role of AI in Human Development :

Sector	Contribution of AI
Economy	Can add ₹33.8 lakh crore to GDP by 2030 (Google Report); boosts productivity
Healthcare	AI aids diagnostics, telemedicine, workflow optimization, VR-based medical training
Education	Personalized learning, AI tutors, gap analysis, access in rural areas
Governance	Tools like MuleHunter.AI are used to detect digital fraud in welfare schemes. Bhashini Project: AI enables multilingual communication, expanding policy outreach across linguistic communities.
Inclusion	AI bridges service gaps, if developed using human-centered design

Key Challenges Hindering Human Development in India

1. Inequality has caused a 30.7% loss in India’s HDI, which is among the highest in the region.
   1. India’s Gini coefficient (2023): 0.410.
      • The Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality within a population, ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 represents perfect equality and 1 represents complete inequality.
      • It's derived from the Lorenz curve, a graphical representation of income distribution.
      • A higher Gini coefficient indicates greater income disparity.
2.  Gender Disparities:
   1. Gender disparities remain significant. E.g., India ranks 102nd on the Gender Inequality Index (GII)
   2. Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP): 41.7% (low compared to global standards).
   3. Political Representation: While progress has been made with the 106th Constitutional Amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women, gender equality remains a significant challenge.

Comparison with Neighbours

Country	Rank
China	78
Sri Lanka	89
Bhutan	125
Bangladesh	130
Nepal	145
Myanmar	150
Pakistan	168

• BRICS Comparison: Brazil (89), Russia (59), China (75), South Africa (110) all ahead of India.

Policy Recommendations for India

A. Gender Equality:

1. Strengthen Female Political Representation: Implement the 106th Constitutional Amendment for one-third legislative reservation.
2. Encourage Women Entrepreneurship: Expand access to financial schemes like PM Mudra Yojana, Stand-Up India, and digital platforms.
3. Skilling and Employment: Create flexible jobs and provide skilling support and crèche facilities.
4. Legislative Reform: Enforce laws against gender-based violence, child marriage, and workplace discrimination.

B. Reducing Inequality:

1. Strengthen inclusive schemes like MGNREGA, PMEGP, and Jan Dhan Yojana.
2. Reforms needed in land rights, public health, and education.
3. Support SDG 10 on reduced inequality and leverage CSR for equitable development.

C. Improving Health & Education:

1. Increase investment in primary healthcare and ensure universal access to nutrition (e.g., Poshan Abhiyaan).
2. Reform the education system under NEP 2020 and improve teacher training.

D. Leveraging AI for Inclusive Development:

1.  Ensure AI supports e-health, e-learning, and agriculture advisories for marginalized populations.
2.  Expand digital and financial inclusion through initiatives like UPI, Jan Dhan, and digital literacy.