M A I N   N E W S

India fares poorly in quality of life
Slips to 134th rank among 182 countries on Human Development Index
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 5
While this year China figures among the only five countries across the world that improved their Human Development Index (HDI) rankings by three or more points, India continues to cut a sorry figure, slipping six points (from the last compilation) in the latest UNDP Human Development Index. Overall, however, India made progress on HDI, improving its value from 0.556 in 2000 to 0.612 in 2007.

As against a standing of 128 in the previous year’s UN Human Development Report, India has been ranked 134th among the 182 nations surveyed in the latest report released globally in Bangkok and nationally in the Capital today. The slip represents poor progress on some indicators of people’s well-being, including life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita.

In China (ranked 92), along with Colombia, France, Peru and Venezuela, which improved their rankings by at least three points, the fillip has been attributed to increase in incomes and life expectancy. China, Colombia and Venezuela’s progress has also been driven by improvement in education, states this year’s report titled ‘Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development’ that focuses on migration. The report, released by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, concludes that disparities in life expectancy in the world can range up to 30 years. Despite progress in the last 25 years, disparities in people’s well-being in rich and poor countries continue to be unacceptably wide. The report was introduced here by Patrice Coeur-Bizot, resident representative of the UNDP.

This year’s report represents the most extensive coverage ever of 182 countries. As for rankings, the top three ranked countries in the HDI are - Norway, Australia and Iceland. France rejoined the top 10 countries after dropping down for one year, while Luxembourg fell from the top 10.