Human Development

The term ‘human development’ may be defined as an expansion of human capabilities, a widening of choices, ‘an enhancement of freedom, and a fulfilment of human rights. The concept of human development emerged in the late 1980s based on the conceptual foundation provided by Dr. Amartya Sen and Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq. Between 1990 and 2017, India’s HDI value increased from 0.427 to 0.640, an increase of nearly 50 per cent and an indicator of the country’s remarkable achievement in lifting millions of people out of poverty.

Recent Developments

Human Development Index (HDI) 2018

  • The HDI was introduced in the first Human Development Report in 1990. It was released as a composite measurement of development challenged purely economic assessment of national progress.
  • HDI, basically, is the composite index of life expectancy, education and per capita income, which are used to rank countries in four tiered human development.
  • India ranks 130 in UN’s human development index. India climbed one spot to 130 among 189 countries in the latest HDI 2018, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Within South Asia, India’s human development index (HDI) value is above the average of 0.638 for the region, with Bangladesh and Pakistan, countries with similar population size, being ranked 136 and 150 respectively.
  • India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and health care, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of human capital. The rankings are based on four key parameters: life expectancy, years of schooling, learning and functional health.\

Recent Government Interventions

  • Establishment of 5 New IITs: Government of India is setting up 5 New IITs, one each at Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, as per the announcement of new IITs in Union Budget 2014-15.
  • Research Parks: Under the plan Schemes titled “National initiative for Technology Transfer including setting up of research Parks and establishment of Council for Industry and higher Education Collaboration”. Two research parks are being established at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bombay. Considering the renewed focus of the government of India in research and business climate in the country, the scheme is being revamped with the focus on setting up more research parks and Startup centers in the Higher Educational Institutions.
  • GIAN: Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) Scheme to boost the quality of higher education in India. Under this programme the international faculty would conduct one week to two week course at an Indian Institute. GIAN Scheme aims at improving the quality of higher education in the country through international collaboration. Under this scheme, academicians will cover 13 disciplines and 352 courses to be taught in 68 national institutions.
  • Impact Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India: IMPRINT India Programme is joint initiative of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It seeks to develop road map for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges in 10 technology domains relevant for country. These domains include Health care technology, Energy Security, Rural Urban Housing Design, Nano technology, Water/River System, Advanced materials, Computer Science and ICT, Manufacturing Technology, Advanced Security and Environment / Climate Change.
  • Institute of Eminence (IoE): The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has granted Institution of Eminence (IoE) status to six educational institutions, which includes 3 Institutions from Public Sector - Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru (Karnataka); Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay (Maharashtra) and IIT Delhi and 3 from Private Sector - Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences, Pilani (Rajasthan); Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal (Karnataka) and proposed Jio Institute of Reliance Foundation in Pune (Maharashtra) under Green Field Project). They were selected by Empowered Expert Committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami.
  • Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA): For providing additional funds for research and related infrastructure, Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), has started its operations. HEFA was born out of the vision of Budget speech of 2016-17, for providing additional finance for promoting research in the higher educational institutions. HEFA has been set up on 31st May 2017 by the Central Government as a non-profit, Non-Banking Financing Company (NBFC) for mobilising extra-budgetary resources with an objective for qualitatively upgrade the research and academic infrastructure in India to global best standards by 2022.
  • National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): Ministry of Human Resource Development has released Ranking System Framework for Higher Educational Institutions of India. This is the first time that a reliable, transparent and authentic ranking system is being implemented in the country for Higher Education. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has been launched to rank higher educational institutions in the Country based on objective, verifiable criteria. The ranking system is expected to promote excellence in education in a competitive environment. India Rankings 2016 is the country’s first exercise to rank the higher educational institutions in the country based on objective, identifiable parameters

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