Write a short note on the Human Development Index (HDI).
Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education and income indices used to rank countries in four groups of human development. It was developed by a Pakistani economist Mahbub Ul Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990 and it was published by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP).
The HDI is a summary measure of average achievements in key dimensions of human development; a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living.
The HDI is the geometric mean of the following three dimensions:
(i) Life expectancy at birth
(ii) Adult literacy and combined gross enrolment ratio
(iii) Standard of living measured at gross national income per capita
All the three indicators are given equal weightage i.e., 13. Out of 187 countries, India ranks at 130 in terms of HDI with a value of 0.609.