Knowledge Nugget: Why Human Development Report 2025 is UPSC essential
(Relevance: UPSC has directly asked questions about the publication of important indices and reports. In 2012, a question was asked on the Multidimensional Poverty Index. More importantly, the HDR provides a perspective and way forward for countries. It is an important document for a holistic understanding of human resources.)
Why in the news?
Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released its latest Human Development Report (HDR) titled “A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI.” Humans are “the true wealth of nations,” the report notes, underscoring that humans are more than the sum of the tasks they perform. Instead of emphasising the difference, the report pointed out that humans and machines have the potential to be a powerful complementarities that expand human potential. The report shows how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could reignite development.
2. UNDP published the following indices: Human Development Index (HDI), Inequality-adjusted HDI, Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI), Multidimensional Poverty Index, and Planetary pressures-adjusted Human Development Index.
3. HDI is composite index that measures average achievement in human development taking into account four indicators: life expectancy at birth (Sustainable Development Goal 3); expected years of schooling (SDG 4.3); mean years of schooling (SDG 4.4); and gross national income (GNI) per capita (2017 PPP$) (SDG 8.5).
Key highlights of the Report:
1. The report noted the widening gap in inequality between countries with low Human Development Index (HDI) scores and those with very high HDI scores for the fourth consecutive year, highlighting a stark reversal of a historical trend where such inequalities were decreasing.
2. India shows steady upward movement in the HDI rankings, ranking 130 in the 2025 UNDP report. The country’s HDI value rose from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023, placing India in the medium human development category and bringing it closer to the high human development threshold (HDI ≥ 0.700).
| HDI classification |
| According to UNDP, the cutoff-points of classification of countries based on HDI value are “HDI of less than 0.550 for low human development, 0.550–0.699 for medium human development, 0.700–0.799 for high human development and 0.800 or greater for very high human development.” |
3. The report noted that India’s HDI value has increased by over 53% since 1990, showing a growth faster than both the global and South Asian averages. The targeted social protection and welfare programmes, and economic growth are cited as reasons for the progress.
