The Hindu Business Line : India’s HDI rank

The article highlights the areas where national priorities need to be set — education, gender equality and social development. But the general wisdom is that wealth must be created before it is distributed.

With a per-capita income that is among the lowest in the world, the resources are limited to tackle the country’s biggest problems. But with higher economic growth, development generally follows.

Most often, the contributory factors to lower HDI are the interior States with poorer economies. But the coastal states — including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Goa — and such northern States as Delhi, Haryana and Punjab have better economies and hence better HDI. Thus, reforms must be focussed more on States such as Bihar and UP so that India’s overall HDI rating improves.

If we are unsuccessful in these areas, our ranking will never improve, irrespective of what other States do, as these two northern States have most of the population and political control.

Many things have changed in the last ten years, though it is not enough to change centuries of mis-governance and suffering.

Famine, ignorance and poverty have been with us since the dawn of the modern era. We have managed to overcome some of these ills, built superior universities and centres of higher educations and created top-class companies.

Eventually, this too will get reflected in our HDI rankings.

Balaji Viswanathan e-mail