Bridging Grey Areas
Bruhaspati Samal
General Secretary
Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers
Odisha State CoC, Bhubaneswar
India has demonstrated remarkable progress in recent years on the Human Development Index (HDI), with the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) recently released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) marking a notable rise in the country’s global standing. India moved up three spots, from rank 133 in 2022 to 130 in 2023, and its HDI value rose from 0.676 to 0.685. This advancement reflects continued improvements in key areas such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income. However, despite being on a promising trajectory, India remains in the medium human development category. To break into the high human development tier (HDI > 0.700), it must address several persistent grey areas that hinder inclusive progress.
A major stumbling block is inequality, which continues to erode India’s overall human development achievements. According to the HDR, inequality reduces India’s HDI by as much as 30.7%, one of the highest losses in the region. This erosion stems from disparities in income, access to quality education and healthcare, and socio-economic exclusion. While economic growth has benefited segments of the population, the benefits have not reached everyone equally. The income gap is stark: the top 10% of the population holds nearly 57% of the total income, while the bottom half holds only 13%. The Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, stands at 0.35, indicating a worrying level of income disparity. Bridging this divide will require the government to implement more progressive taxation policies, increase investments in social safety nets, and expand employment generation schemes such as MGNREGA.
Gender disparity is another area that demands urgent attention. Though steps like the recent constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women are promising, the gap in women’s participation in the economy and governance remains wide. Female labour force participation in India remains low, hovering around 28%, which is well below the global average. Political representation also paints a dismal picture, with women occupying only about 14% of parliamentary seats. These figures underscore deep-rooted societal norms and systemic barriers that limit women’s empowerment. Addressing this requires strong policy enforcement and societal change. The government should ensure the effective rollout of the reservation policy across all levels and support women entrepreneurs through financial and skill-building initiatives.
Education in India has expanded in terms of access, but quality remains a challenge. While the average years of schooling increased to 6.88 in 2023 and school enrolment levels are commendable, learning outcomes are far from satisfactory. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 reveals that only half of the students in grade 5 can read a grade 2-level text. This reflects a disconnect between schooling and actual learning. Moreover, digital education has become a necessity post-pandemic, yet a vast rural-urban divide persists. Over 70% of students in rural areas lack access to online learning resources. The government needs to make quality education a priority by improving teacher training, introducing performance-linked assessments, and ensuring the full implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Health outcomes in India have improved, but the gains are uneven. Life expectancy has reached a record 72 years, up from 58.6 years in 1990. Yet, significant gaps persist, especially in rural and marginalized communities. Rural areas, which house the majority of the population, continue to suffer from inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of trained medical staff. Public health expenditure remains low at just 2.1% of GDP, well below the global average of 6%. Urban centres dominate the availability of hospital beds and specialist care. To rectify this imbalance, India must increase its health spending to at least 3% of GDP and strengthen the reach and quality of primary healthcare services. Telemedicine and mobile health units can help bring services to remote areas, but their effectiveness hinges on digital connectivity and trained personnel.
The digital divide is an emerging challenge that mirrors and magnifies existing inequalities. India has rapidly embraced digital technology, particularly in financial inclusion and e-governance. However, internet access remains skewed. Only 38% of rural households are connected to the internet, compared to 72% of urban households. While India boasts the world’s highest self-reported AI skills penetration, this digital progress does not reflect the experiences of most rural Indians, where only 15% of the workforce is digitally literate. If left unaddressed, this divide could deepen socio-economic disparities and hinder access to education, healthcare, and employment.
Another under-addressed issue is the urban-rural development imbalance. Urban areas enjoy better infrastructure, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities, while rural India—home to nearly two-thirds of the population—lags in nearly every dimension of development. This disparity is reflected in the rural HDI, estimated at 0.638 compared to 0.741 in urban areas. Youth unemployment in rural areas, especially among the 15–29 age group, stands at 17.3%, significantly higher than the national average. Rural development requires a holistic strategy that includes localized industrialization, improved transport and communication networks, and better public services.
India's development is also increasingly threatened by climate vulnerabilities. As one of the most climate-affected countries in the world, India loses approximately 2.5% of its GDP annually due to climate-related disasters, according to the World Bank. Over 600 million Indians are at risk of climate-induced livelihood disruptions, especially in agriculture-dependent and coastal regions. Climate change undermines health, food security, and water availability—all critical aspects of human development. The path forward requires integrating climate adaptation strategies into development planning.
In sum, while India’s steady climb on the HDI ladder is commendable, achieving a score above 0.700—and joining the ranks of high human development countries—will require a concerted push across multiple fronts. Reducing inequality, empowering women, strengthening public services, bridging the digital divide, and fostering sustainable development are no longer optional—they are imperative. These efforts must involve government policy, private sector innovation, academic research, and community engagement. The future of human development in India rests not just on economic indicators, but on inclusive choices that uplift every segment of society. As Angela Lusigi, UNDP India's Resident Representative, aptly noted, India’s progress is a testament to its resilience and ambition. But moving into the high human development category will depend on how equitably and sustainably the nation consolidates its gains. The time to act decisively on these grey areas is now.
(The writer is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist)
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