India’s HDI Rank Slips to 131, Still Gets Lauded by UNDP

Last year, India’s HDI ranking was 129.

UNDP officials said that there was room for India for further improvements.

(Image: IANS)

India's Human Development Index, or HDI, position has marginally dropped after improving last year. In the latest UNDP's HDI ranking, India stands at 131. Last year, India's ranking was 129.

The Human Development Report (HDR) is UNDP's annual assessment of the state of human development worldwide and includes the HDI, which measures individual countries' progress.

However, UNDP officials say this doesn't mean India didn't do well but others did better. UNDP Resident Representative Shoko Noda, in fact, praised India's commitment to reduce carbon emission and said that India can help other countries, too.

However, they agreed there's room for India for further improvements, in a webinar organised by the UNDP.

This year, amid the COVID pandemic, the report introduces a new index by the name of PHDI. The planetary pressures-adjusted HDI (PHDI) retains the simplicity and clarity of the original HDI, while accounting for some of the complex system-level dynamics discussed throughout the report.

"More than ever, we can do things differently for a better planet," Noda said. She stressed that the PHDI was introduced as they believe no development can take place without planetary considerations.

The PHDI adjusts the standard HDI by a country’s level of carbon dioxide emissions and material consumption, each on a per capita basis.

This year's HDR report comes amid the pandemic. "COVID-19 responses have widened our imaginations as to what's possible. Life need not inevitably get worse due to planetary changes, but we must do more than minimise damages and commit to realising unprecedented futures," was a key finding of this year's report.

Norway ranked No. 1, while Niger is ranked last at 189 in this year's UNDP Human Development Index ranking.