Why is it in the news?

• Recently, the India’s HDI and GII ranking was published in the United Nations Development Program’s report titled “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World”.

 Key Highlights of the Report

• India’s ranking on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) improved by one position in 2022 to 134 out of 193 countries with a score of 644 compared to 135 out of 191 countries in 2021 (0.633).
• On the Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2022, India has been ranked at 108 out of 193 countries with a score of 437. Its rank was 122 out of 191 countries with a score of 0.490 in the GII-2021.
• However, the country also has one of the largest gender gaps in its labour force participation rate — a 47.8 per cent difference between women (28.3 per cent) and men (76.1 per cent).
• The report revealed that while rich countries attained record human development, half of the poorest remain below their pre-crisis level of progress.
• In 2022, India saw improvements across all HDI indicators — life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) per capita and life expectancy rose from 67.2 to 67.7 years, expected years of schooling reached 12.6, mean years of schooling increased to 6.57 and GNI per capita saw an increase from USD 6,542 to USD 6,951.
• Moreover, India demonstrated progress in reducing gender inequality. The country’s GII value of 0.437 is better than the global and South Asian averages, according to the report.
• India’s performance in reproductive health is better than other countries in the medium human development group or South Asia. India’s adolescent birth rate in 2022 was 16.3 (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19), an improvement from 17.1 in 2021.