Growth in per capita income raises India's rank

Growth in per capita income raises India's rank
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

JUNE 30: Propelled by a robust growth in per capita income, India has improved its rank four notches to 128 on the Human Development Index (HDI) calculated on the basis of life expectancy, educational attainment and standard of living.

The UN Human Development Report 2000 released today, pegs India's life expectancy at 62.9 years while putting GDP per capita income at 444 dollars per person, an improvement from 331 dollars per person of 1990 -- a growth of 33 per cent in eight years.

The reports puts the average annual rate of growth in percapita income at three per cent. India's Gross National Product (GNP) was 427.4 billion dollars in 1998 and was growing at a healthy 5.6 per cent annually, the report said.

Services sector with close to 46 per cent share contributed highest to the 430 billion dollar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1998. Agriculture contributed 29.3 per cent while industry chipped in 24.7 per cent to the GDP.

Per capita enegry consumption improved from 173 kilowatt hours in 1980 to 482 kilowatt hours in 1997 while the country consumed 465,867 million of kolowatt hours in 1997.

Daily per capita supply of calories improved from 2,082calories per person in 1970 to 2,496 calories in 1997. Daily per capita supply of protein increased 12.9 per cent during 197-97 to 59 grams while that of fats grew 46.5 per cent to 45 grams in 1997.

On the Gender-related development index, India ranked 108 with female life expectancy at 63.3 years, a shade better than 62.5 years expectancy of males. However, literacy rate among female was only 43.5 per cent compared to 67.1 per cent in male.

Despite half a century of elected governments, India has failed to provide universal primary education, the report said adding there was no provision in the constitution for mandatory primary education as a right of all citizens.

In 1991, 52 per cent of the population aged seven and above was literate. But breaking data down by gender, some castes and urban or rural dwellings reveals especially extreme deprivation among rural women of scheduled tribes with a literacy rate of just 16 per cent, UN report said.

Literacy rate for rural women of scheduled tribes was 51 per cent, almost the National average. But in several states it was below 51 per cent and in Rajasthan just four per cent.

"Resources are not the critical constraint. Countries with similar resources, such as China, have legal guarantees for this economic right, and have delivered it," it said adding the principles of human rights call for policy measures to tackle the extreme depreviation of these groups.

Lauding India's efforts in reducing income proverty, the report said poverty has been reduced from 54 per cent in 1974 to 39 per cent in 1994. Yet widespread income poverty and income inequality still exists.

Lack of housing is another problem in India with millions living in shantytowns in Calcutta and Mumbai, it observed.

Stating that public interest litigation cases - ineducation and environment - have been useful in securing people's economic and social rights, the UN report however expressed concern over shortages of judges and overwhelming backlogs of cases strangling the rule of law.

There are more than 2,000 pending cases per judge in India, it said.