Out of 187 countries, India is in 135th position

India’s human development index has improved very slightly but remains among the median countries in terms of human development, just seven places above Bangladesh, according to the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report released on Thursday.

The Human Development Index is a composite index that measures income, education (average years of education completed by adults, and expected years of education for children entering school) and health (life expectancy). Since 1990, the UNDP has calculated an HDI for every country in the world and ranked them. With an HDI value of 0.586 out of a maximum possible 1, India is 135th out of 187 countries.

India’s human development index improved slower in the 2000s than it did in the 1980s despite much faster economic growth, the report shows. However, the improvement in the 2000s was better than in the 1990s.

When inequality is factored in, India loses nearly 30% of its HDI value. India’s human development indicators are also substantially different for men and women; the HDI for men is much higher at 0.627, while that of women is just 0.519. The report also includes estimates for a newer Multi-dimensional Poverty Index, but since India has not collected new health statistics since 2005, the Index too could not be updated, the researchers said. India lags far behind all other BRICS nations on the HDI, the report shows.

It makes a strong push for universal social protections, noting that countries such as Costa Rice, Ghana and South Korea as well as Scandinavian nations enacted social security legislation at lower levels of income per capita than India is at right now. Moreover, the report cites ILO estimates that a “basic social floor — universal basic old age and disability pensions, basic childcare benefits, universal access to essential health care, social assistance and a 100-day employment scheme” would cost India less than 4 per cent of its GDP.

At this stage, universal schemes make more sense for India than targeted ones, Lise Grande, UNDP Resident Representative for India, told The Hindu in an interview. “Evidence from around the world shows that universal delivery mechanisms are the most efficient, pragmatic way of providing social services. Targeting can also be effective, but really only makes sense when there are systems in place that are advanced and performing optimally,” she said.

The UNDP’s push for universalism applies to jobs too; it is advocating for countries to return to the goal of “full employment,” a goal that it notes has disappeared from the global agenda since the 1970s.

With one year to go before the Millenium Development Goals lapse, the UNDP report argues that while progress has been made, it is on shaky ground on account of economic crises, social unrest, conflict and climate change.