Showing posts with label REPORTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label REPORTS. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
S.R Hashim Report on methodology for identification of poor in urban areas
With the objective of putting in place a uniform criterion to identify the BPL households in urban areas so that objectivity and transparency is ensured in delivery of benefits to the target groups, the Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group under the Chairmanship of Professor S.R. Hashim.
The terms of reference of the Expert Group are as follows:
a) To recommend appropriate detailed methodology with simple, transparent and objectively measurable indicators, to identify Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households in urban areas for providing assistance under various schemes targeted at the urban poor;
b) To recommend periodicity for the conduct of BPL Survey in Urban Areas or the mechanisms to review such a BPL list;
c)To recommend institutional mechanisms for the conduct of BPL survey, survey questionnaire, processing of data, training, validation and approval of urban BPL list at various levels;
d) To recommend suitable institutional mechanisms to address the grievances of public on exclusion/inclusion in the urban BPL List;
e) Any other suggestions/recommendations to make the exercise of Urban BPL survey simple, transparent and acceptable.
The methodology recommended is as follows:
the Expert Group decided that poverty in Urban areas could be best captured by identifying three categories of vulnerabilities, i.e., residential vulnerability, occupational vulnerability and social vulnerability that the urban poor is subjected to. It was agreed to evolve a methodology to identify urban poor based on the various dimensions of these three areas of vulnerabilities to be qualified by a number of indicators which would also give an idea of the depth/intensity of the vulnerability.
Based on the above broad approach, the Expert Group recommends a three stage identification process (i) Automatic Exclusion ; (ii) Automatic Inclusion ; and (iii) Scoring Index.
Stage 1: Automatic Exclusion: If the number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household is 4 and above, that household will be excluded. Secondly, the household possessing any one of the assets, i.e., ‘4 wheeler motorized vehicle’, ‘AC Set’ and ‘computer or laptop with internet’ will also be excluded. Besides the households possessing any three of the following four assets, i.e., refrigerator, telephone (landline), washing machine, two wheeler motorized vehicle will also be excluded.
Stage 2: Automatic Inclusion: households facing various kinds of deprivations and vulnerabilities viz. residential, social and occupational vulnerabilities would be automatically included in the BPL List.
a) Under residential vulnerability, If the household is ‘houseless’ or the household has a house with roof and wall made of plastic/polythene or the household having only one room or less with the material of wall being grass, thatch, bamboo, mud, un-burnt brick or wood and the material of roof being grass, thatch, bamboo, wood or mud, then that will be automatically included.
b) Under occupational vulnerability, the household having no income from any source; any household member (including children) engaged in a vulnerable occupation like beggar/rag picker, domestic worker (who are actually paid wages) and sweeper/sanitation worker /mali); and all earning adult members in a household are daily wagers or irregular wagers, then that household should be automatically included.
c) Under social vulnerability, if there is no member of the household aged 18 years and above (Child-headed household) or there is no able-bodied person aged between 18 and 60 years in the household or all earning adult members in a household are either disabled, chronically ill or aged more than 65 years, then that household should be automatically included.
Stage 3: Scoring Index: In the third and final stage, the remaining households will be assigned scores from 0 to 12 based on various indicators of residential, social and occupational vulnerabilities. Those households with scores from 1 to12 are to be considered eligible for inclusion in the BPL List in the increasing order of the intensity of their deprivations meaning thereby that those with higher scores are more deprived.
The terms of reference of the Expert Group are as follows:
a) To recommend appropriate detailed methodology with simple, transparent and objectively measurable indicators, to identify Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households in urban areas for providing assistance under various schemes targeted at the urban poor;
b) To recommend periodicity for the conduct of BPL Survey in Urban Areas or the mechanisms to review such a BPL list;
c)To recommend institutional mechanisms for the conduct of BPL survey, survey questionnaire, processing of data, training, validation and approval of urban BPL list at various levels;
d) To recommend suitable institutional mechanisms to address the grievances of public on exclusion/inclusion in the urban BPL List;
e) Any other suggestions/recommendations to make the exercise of Urban BPL survey simple, transparent and acceptable.
The methodology recommended is as follows:
the Expert Group decided that poverty in Urban areas could be best captured by identifying three categories of vulnerabilities, i.e., residential vulnerability, occupational vulnerability and social vulnerability that the urban poor is subjected to. It was agreed to evolve a methodology to identify urban poor based on the various dimensions of these three areas of vulnerabilities to be qualified by a number of indicators which would also give an idea of the depth/intensity of the vulnerability.
Based on the above broad approach, the Expert Group recommends a three stage identification process (i) Automatic Exclusion ; (ii) Automatic Inclusion ; and (iii) Scoring Index.
Stage 1: Automatic Exclusion: If the number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household is 4 and above, that household will be excluded. Secondly, the household possessing any one of the assets, i.e., ‘4 wheeler motorized vehicle’, ‘AC Set’ and ‘computer or laptop with internet’ will also be excluded. Besides the households possessing any three of the following four assets, i.e., refrigerator, telephone (landline), washing machine, two wheeler motorized vehicle will also be excluded.
Stage 2: Automatic Inclusion: households facing various kinds of deprivations and vulnerabilities viz. residential, social and occupational vulnerabilities would be automatically included in the BPL List.
a) Under residential vulnerability, If the household is ‘houseless’ or the household has a house with roof and wall made of plastic/polythene or the household having only one room or less with the material of wall being grass, thatch, bamboo, mud, un-burnt brick or wood and the material of roof being grass, thatch, bamboo, wood or mud, then that will be automatically included.
b) Under occupational vulnerability, the household having no income from any source; any household member (including children) engaged in a vulnerable occupation like beggar/rag picker, domestic worker (who are actually paid wages) and sweeper/sanitation worker /mali); and all earning adult members in a household are daily wagers or irregular wagers, then that household should be automatically included.
c) Under social vulnerability, if there is no member of the household aged 18 years and above (Child-headed household) or there is no able-bodied person aged between 18 and 60 years in the household or all earning adult members in a household are either disabled, chronically ill or aged more than 65 years, then that household should be automatically included.
Stage 3: Scoring Index: In the third and final stage, the remaining households will be assigned scores from 0 to 12 based on various indicators of residential, social and occupational vulnerabilities. Those households with scores from 1 to12 are to be considered eligible for inclusion in the BPL List in the increasing order of the intensity of their deprivations meaning thereby that those with higher scores are more deprived.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Report Entitled Primary Census Abstract for Slum
Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India on 30 September 2013 released report on families living in slum areas. The slum report highlighted Households Population, sex ratio and growth rate, Child population and child sex ratio and Scheduled Caste population etc.
Highlights of slum census report
1. The people who are living in slums increased from 52 million in 2001 to 65 million 2011.
2. Slum population grown slower than the average urban population over 2001-2011.
3. Women living in slums participate at a higher rate in the workforce than the urban average.
4. More Scheduled Castes (SCs) are living in slums with 1 out of every five slums residents belonging to SC, compared to just over one out of 10 for urban India as a whole. The proportion of SCs living in slums has risen over the last decade.
5. Scheduled Castes in slums have shown far better sex ratios than other urban communities.
6. According to census 2001 total number of towns having slums 1743.The number of towns increased to 2613 in 2011.
7. The child sex ratio (0-6 years) of an average slum household is 922 girls for every 1000 boys, compared to 905 for urban India.
8. Top five states in slum population are Maharashtra(12 million),Andhra Pradesh(10 million), West Bengal(6.4 million), Utter Pradesh(6.2 million ) and Tamil Nadu(5.8 million)
9. Three types of slums have been defined in Census — notified, recognised and identified.
10. In 2011 census slums have been earmarked in all the statutory towns irrespective of their population size based on the same definition as in 2001.
11. States/Union territories not reporting Slums Census 2001 are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep. But in 2011 only Manipur, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep not reported any slums.
Probable reasons for upcoming slums
• Urbanization
• Industrialization
• Higher productivity in the secondary and tertiary sector against primary sector.It makes cities and towns centres of economic growth and jobs.
•Cities act as beacons for the rural population as they represent a higher standard of living and offer opportunities to people not available in rural areas. This results in large scale migration from rural to urban areas.
Census report also highlighted the negative consequences of urban pull. It results in upcoming of slums characterised by housing shortage and critical inadequacies in public utilities, overcrowding, unhygienic conditions etc.
Definition of slums
According to the Slum Area Improvement and Clearance Act, 1956 slums have been defined as mainly those residential areas where dwellings are in any respect unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements and designs of such buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light, sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors which are detrimental to safety, health and morals.
According to UN Habitat a slum is characterized by lack of durable housing, insufficient living area, and lack of access to clean water, inadequate sanitation and insecure tenure.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Damodaran panel report
A committee headed by former Sebi chairman M Damodaran has recommended scrapping of 'retrospective taxation' as a chief measure to make India an attractive destination to do business.
The committee, which had leaders of corporates and state-owned companies and officials of various ministries among its members, also recommended a system of advance ruling for all organisations tasked with framing regulations, encouraging arbitration to resolve contractual disputes and setting up of an overarching body to enable policy and process coordination of medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs).
The 76 page-long recommendations titled 'Reforming the Regulatory Environment for doing Business in India' is currently under the study of the ministry of corporate affairs.
The report singled out retrospective taxation as a big obstacle to attracting investment. "Retrospective taxation has the undesirable effect of creating major uncertainties...constituting a significant disincentive for persons wishing to do business in India," the committee remarked. Last year, following the Supreme Court's verdict that British telecom major Vodafone was not liable to pay taxes to the Indian government on overseas transfer of Indian assets, the government had amended the tax laws with retrospective effect, bringing Vodafone's deal under its net. The amendment had caused a huge uproar in the international investor community. The Damodaran committee in its report noted that even though the legal powers of the government extend to giving retrospective effect to taxation proposals, it might not pass the test of certainty and continuity.
The ministry of corporate affairs had set up the committee to suggest ways to improve India's dismally low ranking on the World Bank's index ranking countries on the 10 parameters measuring ease of doing business. In the report, India had been ranked at 132 out of 183 countries, lower than its neighbours Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Further the committee has lashed out at the orientation of debates to the backgrounds and personalities of regulators. It also slammed the practice of conducting interview-based selections of regulators by a panel. According to the committee such sterile debates didn’t help in understanding the organisation’s regulatory philosophy, which significantly influenced the content and scope of regulations. The committee recommended a transparent mechanism to appoint a watchdog. It recommended a system in which the head of a regulatory organisation and his board-level colleagues appeared before an appropriate parliamentary committee once every six months to report on various developments and discuss the broad plan of action for the next six months. The committee said the practice of inviting applications from interested candidates and asking them to appear for interviews by a panel comprising persons unfamiliar with the regulatory organisation led to loss of public confidence, not only in the process but also in the organisation.
It added the genuine functional autonomy of regulators would have to be reinforced with financial autonomy by putting in place a system in which regulatory organisations weren’t dependent on government departments for financial support.
The panel also suggested each regulatory organisation undertake self-evaluation once in three years and put the conclusions in the public domain. It recommended each government organisation or department responsible for framing regulations undertake a two-stage process of consultation, through which a revised draft was put up after the first round of stakeholder consultations. Typically, just one draft is put in the public domain for inviting suggestions.
The committee, which had leaders of corporates and state-owned companies and officials of various ministries among its members, also recommended a system of advance ruling for all organisations tasked with framing regulations, encouraging arbitration to resolve contractual disputes and setting up of an overarching body to enable policy and process coordination of medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs).
The 76 page-long recommendations titled 'Reforming the Regulatory Environment for doing Business in India' is currently under the study of the ministry of corporate affairs.
The report singled out retrospective taxation as a big obstacle to attracting investment. "Retrospective taxation has the undesirable effect of creating major uncertainties...constituting a significant disincentive for persons wishing to do business in India," the committee remarked. Last year, following the Supreme Court's verdict that British telecom major Vodafone was not liable to pay taxes to the Indian government on overseas transfer of Indian assets, the government had amended the tax laws with retrospective effect, bringing Vodafone's deal under its net. The amendment had caused a huge uproar in the international investor community. The Damodaran committee in its report noted that even though the legal powers of the government extend to giving retrospective effect to taxation proposals, it might not pass the test of certainty and continuity.
The ministry of corporate affairs had set up the committee to suggest ways to improve India's dismally low ranking on the World Bank's index ranking countries on the 10 parameters measuring ease of doing business. In the report, India had been ranked at 132 out of 183 countries, lower than its neighbours Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Further the committee has lashed out at the orientation of debates to the backgrounds and personalities of regulators. It also slammed the practice of conducting interview-based selections of regulators by a panel. According to the committee such sterile debates didn’t help in understanding the organisation’s regulatory philosophy, which significantly influenced the content and scope of regulations. The committee recommended a transparent mechanism to appoint a watchdog. It recommended a system in which the head of a regulatory organisation and his board-level colleagues appeared before an appropriate parliamentary committee once every six months to report on various developments and discuss the broad plan of action for the next six months. The committee said the practice of inviting applications from interested candidates and asking them to appear for interviews by a panel comprising persons unfamiliar with the regulatory organisation led to loss of public confidence, not only in the process but also in the organisation.
It added the genuine functional autonomy of regulators would have to be reinforced with financial autonomy by putting in place a system in which regulatory organisations weren’t dependent on government departments for financial support.
The panel also suggested each regulatory organisation undertake self-evaluation once in three years and put the conclusions in the public domain. It recommended each government organisation or department responsible for framing regulations undertake a two-stage process of consultation, through which a revised draft was put up after the first round of stakeholder consultations. Typically, just one draft is put in the public domain for inviting suggestions.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Sachar Committee Report
The Prime Minister has constituted a High Level Committee, headed by Rajindar Sachar, to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India in 2005.
The Committee's mandate was to:
(a) Obtain relevant information and conduct a literature survey on the relative social, economic an educational status of Muslims in India at the state, regional and district levels;
(b) determine the level of their socio-economic development;
(c) determine the relative share in public and private sector employment;
(d) determine the proportion of OBCs from Muslim community in the total OBC population in various states,
(e) Determine access to education and health services, municipal infrastructure and bank credit provided by Government/ public sector entities.
Major findings of the report:
Literacy
The literacy rate for Muslims in 2001 was, according to the Committee’s findings, far below the national average. The difference between the two rates was greater in urban areas than in rural areas. For women, too, the gap was greater in the urban areas.
When compared to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes the growth in literacy for Muslims was lower than for the former. The female urban enrolment in literacy ratio for the SCs/STs was 40 per cent in 1965 that rose to 83 per cent in 2001. The equivalent rate for Muslims—that was considerably higher in 1965 (52 per cent)—recorded a figure of 80 per cent, lower than the figure for the SCs / STs.
According to the Sachar Committee’s findings, 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 age-group either never went to school or else dropped out at some stage.
The disparity in Graduate Attainment Rates between Muslims and other categories has been widening since the 1970s in urban and rural areas. According to the Sachar Committee only one out of 25 undergraduate students and one out of 50 post-graduate students in ‘premier colleges’ are Muslims.
An important cause for the low level of attainment of Muslims in education is the dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu and other subjects through the medium of Urdu (mother tongue) in lower classes.
Employment
Muslims have a considerably lower representation in jobs in the government including those in the Public Sector Undertakings compared to other SRCs. According to these findings, in no State of the country the level of Muslim employment is proportionate to their percentage in the population.
The Sachar Committee observes that the low aggregate work participation ratios for Muslims are ‘essentially’ due to the much lower participation in economic activity by the women of the community. Also, a large number of Muslim women who are engaged in work do so from their homes rather than in offices or factories.
Population
According to the 2001 Census, the Muslim population of India was 138 million (13.4 per cent of the total population). The period 1991-2001 showed a decline in the growth rate of Muslims in most States. According to the Committee’s findings, the Muslim population shows an increasingly better sex ratio compared to other Socio-Religious Categories. Infant mortality among Muslims is slightly lower than the average. Life expectancy in the community is slightly higher (by one year) than the average.
Poverty
The Committee has found that substantially large proportions of Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs 500 expenditure bracket. The Committee has observed that the inequality is higher in urban areas compared to rural areas in most States. Poverty leads to neglect, or the other way round: the Committee found a “significant inverse association” between the proportion of Muslim population and educational and other infrastructure in small villages. Areas of Muslim concentration are, somehow, not well served with pucca approach roads and local bus stops.
Major recommendations of the Committee are:
a) Set up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances of deprivedgroups like minorities.
b) Provide legal mechanism to address complaints of discrimination against minorities in matters of employment, housing, schooling and obtaining bank loans.
c) Initiate and institutionalise a process of evaluating contents of textbooks to purge them of explicit and implicit material that may impart inappropriate social values, especially religious intolerance.
d) Create a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant data for various socio-religious categories are maintained.
e) Set up an autonomous assessment and monitoring authority to evaluate the extent of development benefits.
f) Encourage the University Grants Commission to evolve a system where part of allocation to colleges and universities is linked to diversity in student population.
g) Facilitate admissions to the most backward amongst all socio-religious categories in regular universities and autonomous colleges and evolving alternate admission criteria
h) Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and that have growth potential.
i) Increase employment share of Muslims, particularly where there is great deal of public dealing. Working out mechanisms to link madarsas with higher secondary school board.
j) Recognise degrees from madarsas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
k) Promote and enhancing access to Muslims in ‘Priority Sector Advances’.
l) Include in teacher training components that introduce importance of diversity and plurality and sensitising teachers towards needs and aspirations of Muslims and other marginalised communities.
m) Open high quality Urdu medium schools wherever they are in demand and ensuring high quality textbooks for students in the Urdu language.
n) Improve participation and share of minorities, particularly Muslims, in business of regular commercial banks.
o) Set up a national Wakf development corporation with a revolving corpus fund of Rs 500 crore and Create new cadre to deal with specific Wakf affairs.
The Committee's mandate was to:
(a) Obtain relevant information and conduct a literature survey on the relative social, economic an educational status of Muslims in India at the state, regional and district levels;
(b) determine the level of their socio-economic development;
(c) determine the relative share in public and private sector employment;
(d) determine the proportion of OBCs from Muslim community in the total OBC population in various states,
(e) Determine access to education and health services, municipal infrastructure and bank credit provided by Government/ public sector entities.
Major findings of the report:
Literacy
The literacy rate for Muslims in 2001 was, according to the Committee’s findings, far below the national average. The difference between the two rates was greater in urban areas than in rural areas. For women, too, the gap was greater in the urban areas.
When compared to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes the growth in literacy for Muslims was lower than for the former. The female urban enrolment in literacy ratio for the SCs/STs was 40 per cent in 1965 that rose to 83 per cent in 2001. The equivalent rate for Muslims—that was considerably higher in 1965 (52 per cent)—recorded a figure of 80 per cent, lower than the figure for the SCs / STs.
According to the Sachar Committee’s findings, 25 per cent of Muslim children in the 6-14 age-group either never went to school or else dropped out at some stage.
The disparity in Graduate Attainment Rates between Muslims and other categories has been widening since the 1970s in urban and rural areas. According to the Sachar Committee only one out of 25 undergraduate students and one out of 50 post-graduate students in ‘premier colleges’ are Muslims.
An important cause for the low level of attainment of Muslims in education is the dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu and other subjects through the medium of Urdu (mother tongue) in lower classes.
Employment
Muslims have a considerably lower representation in jobs in the government including those in the Public Sector Undertakings compared to other SRCs. According to these findings, in no State of the country the level of Muslim employment is proportionate to their percentage in the population.
The Sachar Committee observes that the low aggregate work participation ratios for Muslims are ‘essentially’ due to the much lower participation in economic activity by the women of the community. Also, a large number of Muslim women who are engaged in work do so from their homes rather than in offices or factories.
Population
According to the 2001 Census, the Muslim population of India was 138 million (13.4 per cent of the total population). The period 1991-2001 showed a decline in the growth rate of Muslims in most States. According to the Committee’s findings, the Muslim population shows an increasingly better sex ratio compared to other Socio-Religious Categories. Infant mortality among Muslims is slightly lower than the average. Life expectancy in the community is slightly higher (by one year) than the average.
Poverty
The Committee has found that substantially large proportions of Muslim households in urban areas are in the less than Rs 500 expenditure bracket. The Committee has observed that the inequality is higher in urban areas compared to rural areas in most States. Poverty leads to neglect, or the other way round: the Committee found a “significant inverse association” between the proportion of Muslim population and educational and other infrastructure in small villages. Areas of Muslim concentration are, somehow, not well served with pucca approach roads and local bus stops.
Major recommendations of the Committee are:
a) Set up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances of deprivedgroups like minorities.
b) Provide legal mechanism to address complaints of discrimination against minorities in matters of employment, housing, schooling and obtaining bank loans.
c) Initiate and institutionalise a process of evaluating contents of textbooks to purge them of explicit and implicit material that may impart inappropriate social values, especially religious intolerance.
d) Create a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant data for various socio-religious categories are maintained.
e) Set up an autonomous assessment and monitoring authority to evaluate the extent of development benefits.
f) Encourage the University Grants Commission to evolve a system where part of allocation to colleges and universities is linked to diversity in student population.
g) Facilitate admissions to the most backward amongst all socio-religious categories in regular universities and autonomous colleges and evolving alternate admission criteria
h) Provide financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and that have growth potential.
i) Increase employment share of Muslims, particularly where there is great deal of public dealing. Working out mechanisms to link madarsas with higher secondary school board.
j) Recognise degrees from madarsas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
k) Promote and enhancing access to Muslims in ‘Priority Sector Advances’.
l) Include in teacher training components that introduce importance of diversity and plurality and sensitising teachers towards needs and aspirations of Muslims and other marginalised communities.
m) Open high quality Urdu medium schools wherever they are in demand and ensuring high quality textbooks for students in the Urdu language.
n) Improve participation and share of minorities, particularly Muslims, in business of regular commercial banks.
o) Set up a national Wakf development corporation with a revolving corpus fund of Rs 500 crore and Create new cadre to deal with specific Wakf affairs.
Alagh Committee Report
An expert committee, headed by Dr. Yoginder K. Alagh, former Union Minister and Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, has been set up by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to look into the state of the civil services has found serious deficiencies in the system of recruitment.
The committee refers to some basic flaws in the "mindset" of civil servants. It says that in the popular perception members of the civil services have a "ruler mindset", show no signs of courteous and humane behaviour, are totally devoid of transparency in decision-making, and seem to be preoccupied with their own survival and vested interests. This mindset, according to the report, becomes apparent when they are called upon to take care of the needs of the weaker sections of society, especially while implementing policies that can lead to a clash with the interests of influential persons in society.
"As a result, the objectives of justice, fair play, development and welfare vis-a-vis the weaker sections tend to suffer by default”.
A negative orientation, declining professionalism, intellectual sluggishness and a lack of ability to acquire new knowledge, undynamic outlook and, at times, a complete lack of intellectual honesty are some of the other weaknesses identified in the report. The report makes a special mention of the decline in the levels of integrity among civil servants. It points out that extensive regulatory controls by way of export and import licensing, industrial licensing, allocation of permits and quotas and the lowering of domestic duties and taxes on different products offer opportunities to the "venal among those administrating the regulatory set-up to exercise discretion in favour of particular clients on ulterior considerations".
Over the past few decades, the report says, there has been significant erosion of esprit de corps within the higher civil services. It underlines that while some members of the civil service have maintained a firm commitment to high standards of ethics and to the service of the nation, many others have breached the codes of professional conduct and entered into unethical, symbiotic pacts of convenience and mutual accommodation with influential politicians and business interests.
The report states that many civil servants suffer from intellectual sluggishness, which is manifested in the flattening of their learning curves. Most civil servants have the attitude that they are repositories of the wisdom and knowledge needed to deal with matters that lie within their spheres of authority. This attitude, has made them unreceptive to new ideas and impervious to innovations that are essential in a dynamic administrative environment.
The report expresses concern over the "phenomenon of caste and regional prejudice exhibited by some members of the higher civil services". The tendency to favour colleagues belonging to one's own caste, regional or linguistic group implies that those not belonging to any such group will suffer inequitable treatment.
According to the report, postings and transfers have become a tool in the hands of the political executive with which to force civil servants to comply with their diktats. Civil servants who show the flexibility to go along with the directions of their political masters are rewarded and those who refuse to compromise their professional independence, honesty and integrity are sidelined and penalised. The "punishment" comes in the form of frequent changes in assignments.
The report has recommended insulation of the civil service from the vagaries and arbitrariness of the political executive. This can be done by vesting the authority to post and transfer civil servants in independent boards consisting of service professionals.
The other recommendations of the report deal with eligibility parameters, the desired characteristics of candidates in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and the modalities of identifying the most suitable candidates. It makes a strong case for lowering the age limit for recruitment, arguing that the economic cost of taking the examination at a higher age affects candidates from poorer families.
The committee has designed a scheme to identify younger candidates. It suggests that the preliminary examination be made more objective and the main examination include papers on diverse subjects, including environment and law.
The report says that the recruitment and training of civil servants should be a long-term exercise. Future civil servants, it says, should be exposed to field-oriented developmental activities so that they remain in touch with people at the grassroots. Civil servants should develop an ability to work closely with civil society. The report emphasises the need to recruit candidates who can champion reforms, facilitate the functioning of non-governmental organisations and cooperative groups and help the economy and society to operate within the national and global markets.
The report suggests that at the time of recruitment it has to be checked whether the aspirants are aware of the direction in which the country is moving and the strengths and weaknesses of civil society. They should also have an ability to interface with modern technology and institutions of local self-government and perform their duties with a sense of fair play, compassion and a commitment to achieve the objectives set by the Founding Fathers. The report also makes a strong case of lowering the age limit for recruitment, arguing that economic cost of taking examination at a higher age effects from poorer family.The committee has designed a scheme to identify younger candidates.
The report emphasises the need to re-orient the civil service in the context of the diminishing role of the state in providing direct economic services, the state's growing importance in the economic and social sectors and the growing scarcity of non-renewable resources and the need to protect vulnerable groups of society.
The committee refers to some basic flaws in the "mindset" of civil servants. It says that in the popular perception members of the civil services have a "ruler mindset", show no signs of courteous and humane behaviour, are totally devoid of transparency in decision-making, and seem to be preoccupied with their own survival and vested interests. This mindset, according to the report, becomes apparent when they are called upon to take care of the needs of the weaker sections of society, especially while implementing policies that can lead to a clash with the interests of influential persons in society.
"As a result, the objectives of justice, fair play, development and welfare vis-a-vis the weaker sections tend to suffer by default”.
A negative orientation, declining professionalism, intellectual sluggishness and a lack of ability to acquire new knowledge, undynamic outlook and, at times, a complete lack of intellectual honesty are some of the other weaknesses identified in the report. The report makes a special mention of the decline in the levels of integrity among civil servants. It points out that extensive regulatory controls by way of export and import licensing, industrial licensing, allocation of permits and quotas and the lowering of domestic duties and taxes on different products offer opportunities to the "venal among those administrating the regulatory set-up to exercise discretion in favour of particular clients on ulterior considerations".
Over the past few decades, the report says, there has been significant erosion of esprit de corps within the higher civil services. It underlines that while some members of the civil service have maintained a firm commitment to high standards of ethics and to the service of the nation, many others have breached the codes of professional conduct and entered into unethical, symbiotic pacts of convenience and mutual accommodation with influential politicians and business interests.
The report states that many civil servants suffer from intellectual sluggishness, which is manifested in the flattening of their learning curves. Most civil servants have the attitude that they are repositories of the wisdom and knowledge needed to deal with matters that lie within their spheres of authority. This attitude, has made them unreceptive to new ideas and impervious to innovations that are essential in a dynamic administrative environment.
The report expresses concern over the "phenomenon of caste and regional prejudice exhibited by some members of the higher civil services". The tendency to favour colleagues belonging to one's own caste, regional or linguistic group implies that those not belonging to any such group will suffer inequitable treatment.
According to the report, postings and transfers have become a tool in the hands of the political executive with which to force civil servants to comply with their diktats. Civil servants who show the flexibility to go along with the directions of their political masters are rewarded and those who refuse to compromise their professional independence, honesty and integrity are sidelined and penalised. The "punishment" comes in the form of frequent changes in assignments.
The report has recommended insulation of the civil service from the vagaries and arbitrariness of the political executive. This can be done by vesting the authority to post and transfer civil servants in independent boards consisting of service professionals.
The other recommendations of the report deal with eligibility parameters, the desired characteristics of candidates in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and the modalities of identifying the most suitable candidates. It makes a strong case for lowering the age limit for recruitment, arguing that the economic cost of taking the examination at a higher age affects candidates from poorer families.
The committee has designed a scheme to identify younger candidates. It suggests that the preliminary examination be made more objective and the main examination include papers on diverse subjects, including environment and law.
The report says that the recruitment and training of civil servants should be a long-term exercise. Future civil servants, it says, should be exposed to field-oriented developmental activities so that they remain in touch with people at the grassroots. Civil servants should develop an ability to work closely with civil society. The report emphasises the need to recruit candidates who can champion reforms, facilitate the functioning of non-governmental organisations and cooperative groups and help the economy and society to operate within the national and global markets.
The report suggests that at the time of recruitment it has to be checked whether the aspirants are aware of the direction in which the country is moving and the strengths and weaknesses of civil society. They should also have an ability to interface with modern technology and institutions of local self-government and perform their duties with a sense of fair play, compassion and a commitment to achieve the objectives set by the Founding Fathers. The report also makes a strong case of lowering the age limit for recruitment, arguing that economic cost of taking examination at a higher age effects from poorer family.The committee has designed a scheme to identify younger candidates.
The report emphasises the need to re-orient the civil service in the context of the diminishing role of the state in providing direct economic services, the state's growing importance in the economic and social sectors and the growing scarcity of non-renewable resources and the need to protect vulnerable groups of society.
Friday, July 26, 2013
India ranked 3rd in Global Consumer Confidence Index
India has been ranked third in the Global Consumer Confidence Index. The latest survey by the Nielsen reveals that in the second quarter of the current financial year, India slipped one point behind Indonesia and Philippines in the overall consumer confidence levels. Indonesia emerged as the most optimistic country with 124 points followed by Philippines with 121 points and India came third with 121 points.
According to the survey, 72 percent Indians are optimistic about their job prospects in the next 12 months. The job security is the major concern followed by the state of Indian economy. Analysts say that the pattern is a reflection of the concerns of the devaluation of the rupee and the continuing inflation for urban Indians over the past six months. The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions measures is based on consumer confidence, major concerns, and spending intentions among more than 29,000 respondents with Internet access in 58 countries.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
UNICEF report on nutrition
The UNICEF report, ‘Improving Child Nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress’ shows that progress has been made in recent years in addressing stunting in children, and calls for increased efforts to accelerate a response to a condition that affects some 165 million children across the world.
One in four of all children less than five years of age is stunted because of chronic under-nutrition in crucial periods of growth. The damage done to a child's body and brain by stunting is irreversible. It drags down performance at school and later at work, and puts children at a higher risk of dying from infectious diseases. Thus a key to success against stunting is focusing attention on pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life.
An estimated 80 per cent of the world’s stunted children live in just 14 countries. The report highlights successes in scaling up nutrition and improving policies in 11 countries: Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam.
Stunting is reduced through a series of simple and proven steps such as improving women’s nutrition, early and exclusive breastfeeding, providing additional vitamins and minerals as well as appropriate food – especially in pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life.
Some examples:
In the Maharashtra state in India, the percentage of stunted children dropped from 39 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2012 largely because of support to frontline workers who focus on improving child nutrition.
In Peru, stunting fell by a third between 2006 and 2011 following a Child Malnutrition Initiative that lobbied political candidates to sign a ‘5 by 5 by 5’ commitment to reduce stunting in children under 5 by 5 per cent in 5 years and to lessen inequities between urban and rural areas. Peru drew on its experience of successful smaller projects and integrated nutrition with other programmes. It also focused on the most disadvantaged children and women and decentralized government structures.
Ethiopia cut stunting from 57 per cent to 44 per cent and under-5 mortality from 139 deaths per 1,000 live births to 77 per 1,000 between 2000 and 2011. Key steps included a national nutrition programme, providing a safety net in the poorest areas and boosting nutrition assistance through communities.
The report says that existing solutions and the work of new partnerships represent an unprecedented opportunity to address child under-nutrition through countries accelerating progress through national projects coordinated with donor support and measurable targets.
One in four of all children less than five years of age is stunted because of chronic under-nutrition in crucial periods of growth. The damage done to a child's body and brain by stunting is irreversible. It drags down performance at school and later at work, and puts children at a higher risk of dying from infectious diseases. Thus a key to success against stunting is focusing attention on pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life.
An estimated 80 per cent of the world’s stunted children live in just 14 countries. The report highlights successes in scaling up nutrition and improving policies in 11 countries: Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam.
Stunting is reduced through a series of simple and proven steps such as improving women’s nutrition, early and exclusive breastfeeding, providing additional vitamins and minerals as well as appropriate food – especially in pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life.
Some examples:
In the Maharashtra state in India, the percentage of stunted children dropped from 39 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2012 largely because of support to frontline workers who focus on improving child nutrition.
In Peru, stunting fell by a third between 2006 and 2011 following a Child Malnutrition Initiative that lobbied political candidates to sign a ‘5 by 5 by 5’ commitment to reduce stunting in children under 5 by 5 per cent in 5 years and to lessen inequities between urban and rural areas. Peru drew on its experience of successful smaller projects and integrated nutrition with other programmes. It also focused on the most disadvantaged children and women and decentralized government structures.
Ethiopia cut stunting from 57 per cent to 44 per cent and under-5 mortality from 139 deaths per 1,000 live births to 77 per 1,000 between 2000 and 2011. Key steps included a national nutrition programme, providing a safety net in the poorest areas and boosting nutrition assistance through communities.
The report says that existing solutions and the work of new partnerships represent an unprecedented opportunity to address child under-nutrition through countries accelerating progress through national projects coordinated with donor support and measurable targets.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Human Development Report-2013
The Human Development Index (HDI) was introduced in the first Human Development Report in 1990 as a composite measurement of development that challenged purely economic assessments of national progress.
This year the HDI report 2013, entitled The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, emphasizes on the unprecedented growth of developing countries, which is propelling millions out of poverty and reshaping the global system. It covers 187 countries and territories. Data constraints precluded HDI estimates for eight countries: Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, San Marino, Somalia, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
Norway, Australia and the United States lead the rankings of 187 countries and territories in the latest Human Development Index (HDI), while conflict-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo and drought-stricken Niger have the lowest scores in the HDI's measurement of national achievement in health, education and income. Yet according to the report Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite their continuing development challenges, are among the countries that made the greatest strides in HDI improvement since 2000.
The new HDI figures show consistent human development improvement in most countries. Fourteen countries recorded impressive HDI gains of more than 2 percent annually since 2000—in order of improvement, they are: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Angola, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Tanzania, Liberia, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger. Most are low-HDI African countries, with many emerging from long periods of armed conflict. Yet all have made significant recent progress in school attendance, life expectancy and per capita income growth, the data shows.
Most countries in higher HDI brackets also recorded steady HDI gains since 2000, though at lower levels of absolute HDI improvement than the highest achievers in the low-HDI grouping.
Hong Kong, Latvia, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Lithuania showed the greatest 12-year HDI improvement in the Very High Human Development quartile of countries in the HDI; Algeria, Kazakhstan, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba were the top five HDI improvers in the High Human Development countries; and Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Ghana, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Mongolia were the HDI growth leaders in the Medium Human Development grouping.
The overall trend globally is toward continual human development improvement. Indeed, no country for which complete data was available has a lower HDI value now than it had in 2000.
When the HDI is adjusted for internal inequalities in health, education and income, some of the wealthiest nations fall sharply in the rankings: the United States falls from #3 to #16 in the inequality-adjusted HDI, and South Korea descends from #12 to #28. Sweden, by contrast, rises from #7 to #4 when domestic HDI inequalities are taken into account.
The new HDI rankings introduce the concept of the statistical tie for the first time since the HDI was introduced in the first Human Development Report in 1990, for countries with HDI values that are identical to at least three decimal points. Ireland and Sweden, each with an HDI value of 0.916, are both ranked seventh in the new HDI, for example, though the two countries' HDI values diverge when calculated to four or more decimal points.
The 2013 Report's Statistical Annex also includes two experimental indices, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII).
This year the HDI report 2013, entitled The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World, emphasizes on the unprecedented growth of developing countries, which is propelling millions out of poverty and reshaping the global system. It covers 187 countries and territories. Data constraints precluded HDI estimates for eight countries: Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, San Marino, Somalia, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
Norway, Australia and the United States lead the rankings of 187 countries and territories in the latest Human Development Index (HDI), while conflict-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo and drought-stricken Niger have the lowest scores in the HDI's measurement of national achievement in health, education and income. Yet according to the report Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite their continuing development challenges, are among the countries that made the greatest strides in HDI improvement since 2000.
The new HDI figures show consistent human development improvement in most countries. Fourteen countries recorded impressive HDI gains of more than 2 percent annually since 2000—in order of improvement, they are: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Angola, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Tanzania, Liberia, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger. Most are low-HDI African countries, with many emerging from long periods of armed conflict. Yet all have made significant recent progress in school attendance, life expectancy and per capita income growth, the data shows.
Most countries in higher HDI brackets also recorded steady HDI gains since 2000, though at lower levels of absolute HDI improvement than the highest achievers in the low-HDI grouping.
Hong Kong, Latvia, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Lithuania showed the greatest 12-year HDI improvement in the Very High Human Development quartile of countries in the HDI; Algeria, Kazakhstan, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba were the top five HDI improvers in the High Human Development countries; and Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Ghana, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Mongolia were the HDI growth leaders in the Medium Human Development grouping.
The overall trend globally is toward continual human development improvement. Indeed, no country for which complete data was available has a lower HDI value now than it had in 2000.
When the HDI is adjusted for internal inequalities in health, education and income, some of the wealthiest nations fall sharply in the rankings: the United States falls from #3 to #16 in the inequality-adjusted HDI, and South Korea descends from #12 to #28. Sweden, by contrast, rises from #7 to #4 when domestic HDI inequalities are taken into account.
The new HDI rankings introduce the concept of the statistical tie for the first time since the HDI was introduced in the first Human Development Report in 1990, for countries with HDI values that are identical to at least three decimal points. Ireland and Sweden, each with an HDI value of 0.916, are both ranked seventh in the new HDI, for example, though the two countries' HDI values diverge when calculated to four or more decimal points.
The 2013 Report's Statistical Annex also includes two experimental indices, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII).
The GII is designed to measure gender inequalities as revealed by national data on reproductive health, women's empowerment and labour market participation. The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark top the GII, with the least gender inequality. The regions with the greatest gender inequality as measured by the GII are sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Arab States.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) examines factors at the household level that together provide a fuller portrait of poverty than income measurements alone. The MPI is not intended to be used for national rankings, due to significant differences among countries in available household survey data.
In the 104 countries covered by the MPI, about 1.56 billion people are estimated to live in multidimensional poverty. The countries with the highest percentages of ‘MPI poor' are all in Africa: Ethiopia (87%), Liberia (84%), Mozambique (79%) and Sierra Leone (77%). Yet the largest absolute numbers of multidimensionally poor people live in South Asia, including 612 million in India alone.
The Statistical Annex also presents data specifically pertinent to the 2013 Report, including expanding trade ties between developing countries, immigration trends, growing global Internet connectivity and public satisfaction with government services, as well as individual quality of life in different countries.
The Report also reviews key regional development trends, as shown by the HDI and other data:
• Arab States: The region's average HDI value of 0.652 is fourth out of the six developing country regions analysed in the Report, with Yemen achieving the fastest HDI growth since 2000 (1.66%). The region has the lowest employment-to–population ratio (52.6%), well below the world average of 65.8%.
• East Asia and the Pacific: The region has an average HDI value of 0.683 and registered annual HDI value growth between 2000 and 2012 of 1.31%, with Timor-Leste leading with 2.71%, followed by Myanmar at 2.23%. The East Asia-Pacific region has the highest employment-to–population ratio (74.5%) in the developing world.
• Eastern Europe and Central Asia: The average HDI value of 0.771 is the highest of the six developing-country regions. Multi-dimensional poverty is minimal, but it has the second lowest employment-to-population ratio (58.4%) of the six regions.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: The average HDI value of 0.741 is the second highest of the six regions, surpassed only by Eastern Europe and Central Asia average. Multi-dimensional poverty is relatively low, and overall life satisfaction, as measured by the Gallup World Poll, is 6.5 on a scale from 0 to 10, the highest of any region.
• South Asia: The average HDI value for the region of 0.558 is the second lowest in the world. Between 2000 and 2012, the region registered annual growth of 1.43% in HDI value, which is the highest of the regions. Afghanistan achieved the fastest growth (3.9%), followed by Pakistan (1.7%) and India (1.5%).
• Sub-Saharan Africa: The average HDI value of 0.475 is the lowest of any region, but the pace of improvement is rising. Between 2000 and 2012, the region registered average annual growth of 1.34 percent in HDI value, placing it second only to South Asia, with Sierra Leone (3.4%) and Ethiopia (3.1%) achieving the fastest HDI growth.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) examines factors at the household level that together provide a fuller portrait of poverty than income measurements alone. The MPI is not intended to be used for national rankings, due to significant differences among countries in available household survey data.
In the 104 countries covered by the MPI, about 1.56 billion people are estimated to live in multidimensional poverty. The countries with the highest percentages of ‘MPI poor' are all in Africa: Ethiopia (87%), Liberia (84%), Mozambique (79%) and Sierra Leone (77%). Yet the largest absolute numbers of multidimensionally poor people live in South Asia, including 612 million in India alone.
The Statistical Annex also presents data specifically pertinent to the 2013 Report, including expanding trade ties between developing countries, immigration trends, growing global Internet connectivity and public satisfaction with government services, as well as individual quality of life in different countries.
The Report also reviews key regional development trends, as shown by the HDI and other data:
• Arab States: The region's average HDI value of 0.652 is fourth out of the six developing country regions analysed in the Report, with Yemen achieving the fastest HDI growth since 2000 (1.66%). The region has the lowest employment-to–population ratio (52.6%), well below the world average of 65.8%.
• East Asia and the Pacific: The region has an average HDI value of 0.683 and registered annual HDI value growth between 2000 and 2012 of 1.31%, with Timor-Leste leading with 2.71%, followed by Myanmar at 2.23%. The East Asia-Pacific region has the highest employment-to–population ratio (74.5%) in the developing world.
• Eastern Europe and Central Asia: The average HDI value of 0.771 is the highest of the six developing-country regions. Multi-dimensional poverty is minimal, but it has the second lowest employment-to-population ratio (58.4%) of the six regions.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: The average HDI value of 0.741 is the second highest of the six regions, surpassed only by Eastern Europe and Central Asia average. Multi-dimensional poverty is relatively low, and overall life satisfaction, as measured by the Gallup World Poll, is 6.5 on a scale from 0 to 10, the highest of any region.
• South Asia: The average HDI value for the region of 0.558 is the second lowest in the world. Between 2000 and 2012, the region registered annual growth of 1.43% in HDI value, which is the highest of the regions. Afghanistan achieved the fastest growth (3.9%), followed by Pakistan (1.7%) and India (1.5%).
• Sub-Saharan Africa: The average HDI value of 0.475 is the lowest of any region, but the pace of improvement is rising. Between 2000 and 2012, the region registered average annual growth of 1.34 percent in HDI value, placing it second only to South Asia, with Sierra Leone (3.4%) and Ethiopia (3.1%) achieving the fastest HDI growth.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
India ranks 134 in human development index
India ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in terms of the human development index (HDI), which assesses long-term progress in health, education and income indicators, said a UN report released on Wednesday. Although placed in the "medium" category, India's standing is way behind scores of economically less developed countries, including war-torn Iraq as well as the Philippines.
Sri Lanka has been ranked 97, China 101 and the Maldives 109. Bhutan, otherwise respected for its qulity of life, has been placed at 141, behind India.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are ranked 145 and 146 in the list of countries that is headed by Norway and in which the Democratic Republic of Congo is at the very bottom.
The other two countries in South Asia, Nepal and Afghanistan, occupy ranks 157 and 172.
According to the "UN Human Development Report 2011: Sustainability and Inequality", India's HDI is 0.5 compared to 0.3 in 2010.
UN official Seeta Prabhu said: "The HDI for 2011 would be the same if the 2010 methodology was adopted and the sample size was the same. As many as 18 new countries were included in the survey this time."
She said India's gender inequality index was 0.6, the highest in South Asia.
But stating that India had made "significant progress" on HDI, UNDP Country Director Caitlin Wiesen said: "This trajectory may be threatened by environmental risks and inequality."
The UN report said that India had the world's largest number of multidimensionally poor, more than half of the population, at 612 million.
However, the report appreciated India's progress in improving forest cover and protecting biodiversity.
"India is one of the seven developing countries like Bhutan, China, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador and Vietnam which have recently transitioned from deforesting to reforesting," said the report.
India increased its reforestation rate from 0.2% a year between 1990 and 2000 to 0.5% percent a year between 2000 and 2010.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
INDIA HDI values and rank changes in the 2011 Human Development Report
The 2011 Human Development Report presents 2011 Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks for 187 countries and UN-recognized territories, along with the Inequality-adjusted HDI for 134 countries, the Gender Inequality Index for 146 countries, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index for 109 countries. Country rankings and values in the annual Human Development Index (HDI) are kept under strict embargo until the global launch and worldwide electronic release of the Human Development Report. The 2011 Report will be launched globally in November 2011.
It is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the HDI. The 187 countries ranked in the 2011 HDI represents a significant increase from the 169 countries included in the 2010 Index, when key indicators for many countries were unavailable.
Human Development Index (HDI)
The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. As in the 2010 HDR a long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy, access to knowledge is measured by: i) mean years of adult education, which is the average number of years of education received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older; and ii) expected years of schooling for children of school-entrance age, which is the total number of years of schooling a child of school-entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates stay the same throughout the child's life. Standard of living is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita expressed in constant 2005 PPP$.
To ensure as much cross-country comparability as possible, the HDI is based primarily on international data from the UN Population Division, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the World Bank. As stated in the introduction, the HDI values and ranks in this year’s report are not comparable to those in past reports (including the 2010 HDR) because of a number of revisions done to the component indicators by the mandated agencies. To allow for assessment of progress in HDIs, the 2011 report includes recalculated HDIs from 1980 to 2011.
India’s HDI value and rank
India’s HDI value for 2011 is 0.547—in the medium human development category—positioning the country at 134 out of 187 countries and territories. Between 1980 and 2011, India’s HDI value increased from 0.344 to 0.547, an increase of 59.0 per cent or average annual increase of about 1.5 per cent. The rank of India’s HDI for 2010 based on data available in 2011 and methods used in 2011 is 134 out of 187 countries. In the 2010 HDR, India was ranked 119 out of 169 countries. However, it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the HDI. Between 1980 and 2011, India’s life expectancy at birth increased by 10.1 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and expected years of schooling increased by 3.9 years. India’s GNI per capita increased by about 287.0 percent between 1980 and 2011.
Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)
The HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country. Like all averages, the HDI masks inequality in the distribution of human development across the population at the country level. The 2010 HDR introduced the ‘inequality adjusted HDI (IHDI)’, which takes into account inequality in all three dimensions of the HDI by ‘discounting’ each dimension’s average value according to its level of inequality. The HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development and IHDI as an index of actual human development. The ‘loss’ in potential human development due to inequality is given by the difference between the HDI and the IHDI, and can be expressed as a percentage.
India’s HDI for 2011 is 0.547. However, when the value is discounted for inequality, the HDI falls to 0.392, a loss of 28.3 per cent due to inequality in the distribution of the dimension indices. Bangladesh and Pakistan show losses due to inequality of 27.4 per cent and 31.4 per cent respectively. The average loss due to inequality for medium HDI countries is 23.7 per cent and for South Asia it is 28.4 per cent.
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Reproductive health is measured by maternal mortality and adolescent fertility rates; empowerment is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by each gender and attainment at secondary and higher education by each gender; and economic activity is measured by the labour market participation rate for each gender. The GII replaced the previous Genderrelated Development Index and Gender Empowerment Index. The GII shows the loss in human development due to inequality between female and male achievements in the three GII dimensions.
India has a GII value of 0.617, ranking it 129 out of 146 countries in the 2011 index. In India, 10.7 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 26.6 per cent of adult women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 50.4 per cent of their male counterparts. For every 100,000 live births, 230 women die from pregnancy related causes; and the adolescent fertility rate is 86.3 births per 1000 live births. Female participation in the labour market is 32.8 per cent compared to 81.1 for men.
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
The 2010 HDR introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which identifies multiple deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living. The education and health dimensions are based on two indicators each while the standard of living dimension is based on six indicators. All of the indicators needed to construct the MPI for a household are taken from the same household survey. The indicators are weighted, and the deprivation scores are computed for each household in the survey. A cut-off of 33.3 percent, which is the equivalent of one-third of the weighted indicators, is used to distinguish between the poor and nonpoor. If the household deprivation score is 33.3 percent or greater, that household (and everyone in it) is multidimensionally poor. Households with a deprivation score greater than or equal to 20 percent but less than 33.3 percent are vulnerable to or at risk of becoming multidimensionally poor.
The most recent survey data that were publically available for India’s MPI estimation refer to 2005. In India 53.7 per cent of the population suffer multiple deprivations while an additional 16.4 per cent are vulnerable to multiple deprivations. The breadth of deprivation (intensity) in India, which is the average percentage of deprivation experienced by people in multidimensional poverty, is 52.7 per cent. The MPI, which is the share of the population that is multi-dimensionally poor, adjusted by the intensity of the deprivations, is 0.283. Bangladesh and Pakistan have MPIs of 0.292 and 0.264 respectively.
It is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the HDI. The 187 countries ranked in the 2011 HDI represents a significant increase from the 169 countries included in the 2010 Index, when key indicators for many countries were unavailable.
Human Development Index (HDI)
The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. As in the 2010 HDR a long and healthy life is measured by life expectancy, access to knowledge is measured by: i) mean years of adult education, which is the average number of years of education received in a life-time by people aged 25 years and older; and ii) expected years of schooling for children of school-entrance age, which is the total number of years of schooling a child of school-entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates stay the same throughout the child's life. Standard of living is measured by Gross National Income (GNI) per capita expressed in constant 2005 PPP$.
To ensure as much cross-country comparability as possible, the HDI is based primarily on international data from the UN Population Division, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the World Bank. As stated in the introduction, the HDI values and ranks in this year’s report are not comparable to those in past reports (including the 2010 HDR) because of a number of revisions done to the component indicators by the mandated agencies. To allow for assessment of progress in HDIs, the 2011 report includes recalculated HDIs from 1980 to 2011.
India’s HDI value and rank
India’s HDI value for 2011 is 0.547—in the medium human development category—positioning the country at 134 out of 187 countries and territories. Between 1980 and 2011, India’s HDI value increased from 0.344 to 0.547, an increase of 59.0 per cent or average annual increase of about 1.5 per cent. The rank of India’s HDI for 2010 based on data available in 2011 and methods used in 2011 is 134 out of 187 countries. In the 2010 HDR, India was ranked 119 out of 169 countries. However, it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the HDI. Between 1980 and 2011, India’s life expectancy at birth increased by 10.1 years, mean years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and expected years of schooling increased by 3.9 years. India’s GNI per capita increased by about 287.0 percent between 1980 and 2011.
The HDI is an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country. Like all averages, the HDI masks inequality in the distribution of human development across the population at the country level. The 2010 HDR introduced the ‘inequality adjusted HDI (IHDI)’, which takes into account inequality in all three dimensions of the HDI by ‘discounting’ each dimension’s average value according to its level of inequality. The HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human development and IHDI as an index of actual human development. The ‘loss’ in potential human development due to inequality is given by the difference between the HDI and the IHDI, and can be expressed as a percentage.
India’s HDI for 2011 is 0.547. However, when the value is discounted for inequality, the HDI falls to 0.392, a loss of 28.3 per cent due to inequality in the distribution of the dimension indices. Bangladesh and Pakistan show losses due to inequality of 27.4 per cent and 31.4 per cent respectively. The average loss due to inequality for medium HDI countries is 23.7 per cent and for South Asia it is 28.4 per cent.
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Reproductive health is measured by maternal mortality and adolescent fertility rates; empowerment is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by each gender and attainment at secondary and higher education by each gender; and economic activity is measured by the labour market participation rate for each gender. The GII replaced the previous Genderrelated Development Index and Gender Empowerment Index. The GII shows the loss in human development due to inequality between female and male achievements in the three GII dimensions.
India has a GII value of 0.617, ranking it 129 out of 146 countries in the 2011 index. In India, 10.7 percent of parliamentary seats are held by women, and 26.6 per cent of adult women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 50.4 per cent of their male counterparts. For every 100,000 live births, 230 women die from pregnancy related causes; and the adolescent fertility rate is 86.3 births per 1000 live births. Female participation in the labour market is 32.8 per cent compared to 81.1 for men.
The 2010 HDR introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which identifies multiple deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living. The education and health dimensions are based on two indicators each while the standard of living dimension is based on six indicators. All of the indicators needed to construct the MPI for a household are taken from the same household survey. The indicators are weighted, and the deprivation scores are computed for each household in the survey. A cut-off of 33.3 percent, which is the equivalent of one-third of the weighted indicators, is used to distinguish between the poor and nonpoor. If the household deprivation score is 33.3 percent or greater, that household (and everyone in it) is multidimensionally poor. Households with a deprivation score greater than or equal to 20 percent but less than 33.3 percent are vulnerable to or at risk of becoming multidimensionally poor.
The most recent survey data that were publically available for India’s MPI estimation refer to 2005. In India 53.7 per cent of the population suffer multiple deprivations while an additional 16.4 per cent are vulnerable to multiple deprivations. The breadth of deprivation (intensity) in India, which is the average percentage of deprivation experienced by people in multidimensional poverty, is 52.7 per cent. The MPI, which is the share of the population that is multi-dimensionally poor, adjusted by the intensity of the deprivations, is 0.283. Bangladesh and Pakistan have MPIs of 0.292 and 0.264 respectively.
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