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IndiaSocial challenges for a rising economyIn the past few decades, India has made great strides in economic growth and human resources development. Its GDP per capita has doubled from 222 USD in 1975 to 444 USD in 1998 improving the standard of living among its vast population and offering unprecedented opportunities for poverty alleviation. According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2000, India is ranked 128 out of 174 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing it in the medium category. Despite its laudable economic and social achievements, India still faces a myriad of challenges in tackling a range of socio-economic problems. Here, we review India's status in the sectors of population, economy, health, and education. POPULATION India is the second most populous -country in the world after China
and the world's largest democracy. The country's nearly 1 billion
residents speak 1,500 languages and dialects. Over the past four decades,
the size of India's population has more than -doubled and is projected
to reach 1,224.4 million by 2015 and 1,398 -million by 2030, despite
the considerable slowdown in fertility and population growth rates.
This growth can be attributed to marked -reductions in mortality rates
and to the youthful age structure of India's -population (nearly 36
per cent of India's population comprises children between 0 to 14
years of age). The number of births will consequently -remain high
for the large number of couples entering their reproductive age in
the near future is outpacing the -decline in fertility rates.
Economy India's economy is the eleventh largest in the world. It is perhaps also one of the most industrialized countries in the world with a high level of indigenous technological achievement covering areas from nuclear tech-nology to armaments manufacture. Over the past few decades, India's annual GDP growth has nearly doubled, accompanied by a corresponding rise in -domestic -purchasing power. India's trade as a -portion of its GDP has also -increased from 8 per cent in 1970 to 25 per cent in 1998, signalling its increasing integration in the -global economy. Moreover, Indians dominate much of the information -technology (IT) sector, and 11 Indians have been named among Forbes magazine's 14th annual list of the world's top 300 billionaires. Notably, however, India's GDP growth in fiscal year 1999/2000 has declined to 5.9 per cent from a remarkable 6.8 per cent in the -previous year, considerably -rendered by weak performance in the agricultural sector due to unfavourable weather conditions. Although structural reforms undertaken so far have significantly boosted economic growth, India's gains in poverty alleviation have yet to be commensurate with its -economic achievements. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), India will need to sustain an annual GDP growth of 7 to 8 per cent to effect significant progress towards -poverty. With a GNP per capita of 440 USD - compared with the developing countries' average of 1250 USD per capita - India is considered one of poorest countries in the world. Mass poverty is a salient factor in the socio-economic profile of India. According to the UNDP Human Poverty Index (HPI), 34.6 per cent of Indians suffer from human poverty, whereas 44.2 per cent of the population are income poor and forced to eke out a meagre living on less than 1 USD per day. Poverty is particularly poignant in the populous states of north India - namely Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh - and is relatively concentrated in the rural areas. With 20 per cent of the most affluent population accounting for 46.1 per cent of national wealth or consumption, inequities in -income distribution are highly evident in India. Health Investment in health and education is the most widely accepted way of -improving the asset base of the poor. In India, the Supreme Court has insisted on the rights of all citizens to free education and basic health care. In the past few decades, India has made con-siderable progress in improving the health of its population. Public spending on health has tripled from 0.2 to 0.6 per cent of GDP over the period of 1990 to 1998. Average life expectancy at birth has increased by 12.3 years; infant and under-five mortality rates have been almost halved; and 81 per cent of the population now have access to safe water compared to a mere 54 per cent in 1982-1985.
Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2000.
Despite these gains, India still lags -behind many of the developing
countries in the health sector. Its average annual health expenditure
per capita at 18 USD is still marginal, compared to 33 USD in neighbouring
China and 841 USD in Singapore. Communicable -diseases such as tuberculosis,
malaria and leprosy still account for more than -two-thirds of total
mortality and morbidity in the country. The total number of Indians
infected with HIV/AIDS in 1997 is estimated at 4,100,000, with an
adult prevalence rate of 0.82 per cent (0.62 per cent in South Asia).
Approximately one fourth of the population are beyond the reach of
health services, and only 35 per cent have access to essential drugs.
Additionally, 71 per cent have no access to sanitation, rendering
India a hotbed for diseases transmitted through faeces. Furthermore,
India is classified as one of the countries where the -poorest have
the least access to maternal and child health services. A third of
India's newborn babies are underweight; the -reported ratio of maternal
mortality is 410 per 100,000 live births; and 88 per cent of pregnant
women are -anaemic, potentially endangering both the mother and the
foetus. Education Since independence, India has achieved substantial progress in the field of -education. The number of recognized educational institutions has increased more than three-fold and student enrolments at various levels of education have multiplied approximately six-fold. However, adult literacy levels in India remain very low: 44.3 per cent of -India's adult population is illiterate, compared with an average of 27.6 -per cent for all developing countries and 8.9 per cent in the fellow SAARC -country Sri Lanka. India's overall youth literacy rate at 70.9 per cent also falls short of the average for all developing countries (84.1 per cent). Over the years, India has expanded its effort to enhance the knowledge of its population. It has increased its public spending on education as a portion of its GNP from 3 per cent in 1980 to 3.2 per cent in 1997. Nonetheless, the -expenditure seems inadequate relative to the average amount spent in developing nations (3.8 per cent) and other countries in the medium human development category (4.1 per cent). Net enrolment rates at the primary level has increased from 65 per cent in 1980 to 77 per cent in 1997, and from 41 per cent to 60 per cent at the -secondary level over the same period. However, stark -disparities between -genders as well as among ethnic groups exist in educational opportunity and achievement. The adult literacy rate is 67.1 per cent among men, 43.5 per cent among women, and as low as 4 per cent among some ethnic tribes in states such as Rajasthan. The combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment rate is 61 per cent for males and 46 per cent for females. However, there has been notable pro-gress in -attempting to bridge these gaps. For instance, the proportion of female -teachers in -primary schools has increased from 26 per cent in 1980 to 33 per cent in 1996, accompanied by a corresponding in-crement in the rate of girls' enrolment from 39 per cent in 1980 to 43 per cent in 1996. Limited employment -opportunities and lower market returns for women are believed to discourage -parents of girls from investing in -education.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, 2000; UNDP Human Development Report 2000.
CONCLUSION Notwithstanding substantial gains in -average economic growth over the years, India has yet to successfully tackle various socio-economic challenges among its population, especially as -regards mass poverty. According to UNDP statistics, India's HDI value (0.563) ranks slightly higher than its GDP index (0.51), suggesting that the country has converted into human -development rather effectively. However, extensive poverty will greatly hinder the country's further progress in human resources development unless -significant steps are undertaken to -enhance social opportunities for the poor. In a country where women -suffer nearly the double deprivation of low overall achievement in human -development than men, promoting -gender equality is another pressing -challenge for Indian policy makers and other critical actors. However, given the extent of India's natural resources and potential economic gains - and with sound poli-tical commitment and well-targeted -programmes - opportunities for further advancement in -human resources deve-lopment are -immense. References: UNDP Human Development Report, 2000. World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2000. Socio-Economic Profile of SAARC Countries, ESCAP 1996.
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