Quantum jump for Haryana in HDI

Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 12

Haryana has made an improvement of 52.2 per cent in the Human Development Index (HDI) in 27 years (1990 to 2017) due to the highest compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of social sector expenditure in the country, says a State Bank of India (SBI) study on “Human development index across Indian states: Is the glass still half empty?”

The study by the Economic Research Department of SBI looked into a correlation between CAGR in social sector expenditure with HDI data of the UNDP and Global Data Lab.

The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.

Haryana used to be ranked 13 in 1990 (HDI 0.46). For 2017, it is ranked sixth with HDI at 0.7. “Haryana is earning a lot. So, it is able to allocate a larger share for social sectors like health and education,” said Prof Aswini Kumar Nanda from CRRID, Chandigarh.

Comparing region-wise trends, the preponderance of southern states among high HDI is not a surprise, but it also reflects an emerging concern. “This is because ‘southern India’ population is turning old and is currently witnessing a significantly low population growth. This can potentially result in imminent pressure on southern states in terms of inter-state migration (both social and physical),” the report said.