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In order to promote participation of women in economic activities and thereby achieve economic empowerment, self help groups (SHGs) are being formed in all the villages and cities. A SHG is a group of women (usually 20) who come together to share their meagre resources, obtain external support, undertake business jointly and earn income. They are trained in managing accounts, handling bank transactions and skills to take up remunerative income generating activities. SHGs have been instrumental in helping women to earn, save and spend at their willingness. Their dignity and autonomy has increased.

In recent years, many steps are initiated for empowerment of women. Empowerment may be described as the expansion in people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them. Many laws have been enacted to curb violence against women at home and at work places; to guarantee equal wages; providing reservation of seats in elected bodies; etc. All these measures will certainly help in bringing women to the mainstream of development.

Per capita income is the total income of the country divided by its total population. At the state level, it is the total income of the state divided by its total population. The following table gives the per capita income for three states of India for the 2015-2016 time period.

From the above table, it is evident that Bihar has the least per capita income between the three states.

Public facilities are defined as those basic services which cannot be supplied directly to the individual dwelling unit and as a result are utilized away from the individual residential dwelling unit within the public environment. These facilities are provided by the government to ensure all-round development of the individual and in extension the society as a whole. Examples of public facilities include schools, health centres/hospitals, police stations, ration shops etc. From the examples, it is evident that public facilities aim not only to educate an individual but aids the individual to gain help in terms of legal, health and nutritional needs. With individual development, society develops, and this contributes to the development of the country.

The criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development is different from the criterion used by the World Bank in the following ways.

• The UNDP compares the development of the countries on the basis of literacy rate, gross enrolment ratio and health status of their people. On the their hand, the World Bank compares the development of the countries on the basis of per capita income or average income. 
• On the basis of the comparison done by the UNDP, the countries are ranked as first, second, third… whereas on the basis of the comparison done by the World Bank the countries are divided into three categories: 

1. Rich or developed or high-income countries 

2. Middle-income or developing countries 

3. Poor or underdeveloped or low-income countries 

The UNDP has a broader concept of development and the World Bank has a narrow concept of development.

Limitation: Limitation of this criterion is that average or per capita income is not the only factor important for development. This factor hides the other important factor—distribution of income, which also affects development. Higher average income, along with equitable distribution of income is considered favourable for development.

The criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development is different from the criterion used by the World Bank in the following ways. 

• The UNDP compares the development of the countries on the basis of literacy rate, gross enrolment ratio and health status of their people. On the their hand, the World Bank compares the development of the countries on the basis of per capita income or average income. 
• On the basis of the comparison done by the UNDP, the countries are ranked as first, second, third… whereas on the basis of the comparison done by the World Bank the countries are divided into three categories: 

1. Rich or developed or high-income countries 

2. Middle-income or developing countries 

3. Poor or underdeveloped or low-income countries 

• The UNDP has a broader concept of development and the World Bank has a narrow concept of development.

According to the UNDP, human development – or the human development approach - is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the
richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices. Human development focuses on two important aspects –

(a) It tries to directly enhance human abilities. Human development achieves the direct enhancement of human abilities by focussing on a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and by having a decent standard of living.

(b) It creates conditions for further human development. It achieves this by helping governments create policies and legislation to encourage participation in political and community life; through environmental sustainability; by enabling human rights and security and through ensuring gender equality.

Thus, from the above-mentioned aspects, it is clear that the thrust areas for human development include not only income aspects but the development of the whole individual. The process of human development allows individuals to develop their full potential.

In 2012, Human Development Index of India is 0.554 .

We use the word ‘development’ often in our daily lives usually to refer to the progress in a particular field or a segment of people, like rural development, social development, educational development, women and children development, etc. Whenever the economic activities in a country expand, it is called economic development. However, the process of economic development is a complex phenomenon and not easy to define.

The term ‘process’ here refers to the operation of the forces that bring about changes in supply of factors of production and, in the structure of demand for the products. Changes in factor supply take place due to the discovery of additional resources, education and skill development, capital accumulation, population growth, adoption of better techniques of production, etc. Demand for products changes due to change in size and composition of population; level and distribution of income; tastes etc. These changes contribute to an increase in national income.

Human Development Index

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The word ‘underdevelopment’ denotes backward situations.

Human development indicates expansion of ability.

National income is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country during one year.

In an underdeveloped country, basically, the Production is lower.

Complex phenomenon.

Real National Income.

Yes, we agree with the statement that money cannot buy all the goods and services that one needs to live well because of the following reasons.

• Money can buy things that can be one factor on which our life depends like food. But the quality of non-material things like freedom, security and respect cannot be bought with money.
•  We cannot buy pollution free environment, unadulterated medicines and peace with money. 
• Schools, colleges, parks, hospitals, etc. are the facilities which cannot be run individually. There has to be a collective effort of team work between the government or society in providing these to the general public.

Our lives have two separate distinctive aspects. One is the material aspect; the other is the less tangible non - material aspect. The material aspect is taken care of through income. A steady flow of money allows us to buy the material things and derive satisfaction from the same. For e.g., income shall allow us to buy or rent a house which can provide us with shelter against the elements. The non-material aspect is not so easily gained. For e.g., one can desire to be healthy and put in money to achieve the goal. But without proper exercise and clean living, it cannot be achieved.

The non – material aspect cannot often be measured in absolute terms. Money can buy us a good education, but without effort and diligence on our part, the good education cannot give us the benefits. There are several non – material aspects in our lives. They include health, education, job security, participation in the political decision-making process, reduced discrimination, etc. For e.g., an out of town job can provide a better salary. But it may not provide the security along with the benefits one can gain while working in one’s hometown.

For women, they further include things like empowerment, reduced gender disparity, increased dignity, safe and secure social environment. For e.g., women should be respected not only when they work outside the house, but also for the housework they do.

Thus, at an individual level, income is an important aspect in our lives. But individuals also make decisions based on other non-income aspects as it affects their lives as a whole.

Life expectancy in its simplest form means the average period that a person may expect to live. It is a statistical measure of the average time span an individual is expected to live based on the year of its birth, its current age and other demographic factors including gender. Life expectancy is one of the factors in measuring the Human Development Index of each nation.

The Body Mass Index is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height and is universally expressed in units of kg/m², resulting from the mass in kilograms and height in meters. It categorizes individuals as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese based on the derived value. An individual with a BMI of more than 25 will be considered to be overweight.

For a long time, humankind has been dependent on conventional resources to propel their development. But the finite nature of such resources has created a demand and supply gap in this world which has resulted in a variety of problems that include discrepancies in development, war mongering, ill-effects on environment etc. Two important reasons behind the need for environmentally friendly economic growth are as follows –

(1) Environment-friendly economic growth reduces environmental pollution and hence is important as environmental quality affects all species on earth.

(2) Environment-friendly economic growth will arrest the rapid depletion of conventional resources. Finite nature of conventional resource forms like fossil fuels makes it imperative that resources are conserved to expand the time span of usage.

Various methods can be applied to practice an environmentally friendly economic growth. One such method is the process of substitution. Development of substitutes is a major principle of resource conservation. Non -renewable energy resources like fossil fuels may be substituted with renewable energy resources.

Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year. The state of Kerala has the lowest Infant Mortality Rate in India where 12 children died before the age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in 2015 – 2016.

Public facilities are defined as those basic services which cannot be supplied directly to the individual dwelling unit and as a result are utilized away from the individual residential dwelling unit within the public environment. These facilities are provided by the government to ensure all-round development of the individual and in extension the society as a whole. Examples of public facilities include schools, health centres/hospitals, police stations, ration shops etc. These facilities are of immense value to the society as they are provided collectively and can be utilized for the betterment of not only individuals but also the community and in extension the country as a whole. For example, suppose a village does not have a school. When the Panchayat which is the local governing body provides a school for the area, it means that there is a chance that the literacy rate of the area will increase. This will lead to an overall increase in literacy rate. Thus, public facilities when provided and utilized in the correct manner contributes to the country’s development.

The facilities which are provided by the Government are considered as a public facility like schools, hospitals, community halls, transport, electricity etc. As we know that Punjab has more income than the average person in Kerala but Kerala has a low infant mortality rate because of a better public system like Public Distribution System which provides health and nutritional status to the state. We need a public facility because we are not able to purchase all things by money. Public facilities are described as institutional places which are basic individual requirements, such as wellness, education, protection, entertainment, and worship. Public facilities establish the value that certain amenities are granted to all residents of the nation irrespective of rich or poor.

Infant Mortality rate indicates the number of children who die before the age of one year, as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year. One reason for high mortality rate would be public distribution system which provides health and nutritional status to the state.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is the ratio of the height and weight of a person. It is a major indicator of the health of a person. If the BMI is less than 18.5, then the person in undernourished and if it is more than 25, then a person is considered overweight.

BMI= Weight (in kg)/ (Height)² (in mm)

In World Development Report brought out by the World Bank, the countries with per capita income of USD 12736 per annum and above in 2013, are called rich countries and those with per capita income of USD 1570 or less are called low-income countries. India comes in the category of low middle-income countries because its per capita income in 2013 was just US$1570 per income.

The total income of a country or Gross National Income (GNI) is the total domestic and foreign income claimed by residents of a country. The average income of a country or per capita income is the total income of the country divided by its total population. Thus, while total income is an absolute measure for the size of the economy in a country, average income is the average which provides the development level of the said economy.
In development, the average value is often used to compare different countries with respect to their income. Since different countries have different populations, total income does not work as a good comparative measure. Average value of income is derived by dividing the total income of the country by the total population and is also called per capita income. Although average income is used for comparison purposes, it is not an absolute measure as it can hide disparities as it does not state whether the income distribution is equitable or not. In spite of its limitations, average income remains a better indicator of economic development in a country over total income.

The following are the six things that people may look for growth and development, besides income. 

• freedom 
• security 
• respect 
• quality of life 
• health 
• education

According to the UNDP, human development – or the human development approach - is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices. Human development focuses on two important aspects –

(a) It tries to directly enhance human abilities. Human development achieves the direct enhancement of human abilities by focussing on a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and by having a decent standard of living.

(b) It creates conditions for further human development. It achieves this by helping governments create policies and legislation to encourage participation in political and community life; through environmental sustainability; by enabling human rights and security and through ensuring gender equality.

Our lives have two separate distinctive aspects. One is the material aspect; the other is the less tangible non - material aspect. The material aspect is taken care of through income. For e.g., income shall allow us to buy or rent a house which can provide us with shelter against the elements. The non-material aspect is not so easily gained. For e.g., one can desire to be healthy and put in money to achieve the goal. But without proper exercise and clean living, it cannot be achieved.

Thus, at an individual level, income is an important aspect in our lives. But individuals also make decisions based on other non-income aspects as it affects their lives as a whole. The process of human development allows individuals to develop their full potential. Hence, development goals will differ from individual to individual.

Someone in the lower economically developed group may only be interested in policies which would allow them to earn more. Someone in the higher economically developed group may be interested in policies that provide a better environment. None of these goals is wrong; they differ because at an individual level the requirements are different.

The following can be the developmental goals of landless rural labourers. 

• More days of work with better wages. 
• Social and economic equality. 
• Low price food grains. 
• Better education facilities for their children.

Yes, it is true that what may be called development for some may turn out to be destruction for the others.

For example, the Sardar Sarovar dam built over the Narmada river led to a major evacuation of the tribes near the Narmada river and as a result the tribes lost their land and homes. This development of Sardar sarovar dam turned out to be a destruction for the tribes. Another example, On the border of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, in the Singrauli region, over 200,000 people have been displaced on different occasions. First by the Rihand dam, then by a series of thermal power plants of the National Thermal Power Corporation. Singrauli has illuminated the lives of many in the urban centres, but has seen its natives groping in endless darkness, grappling to overcome the trauma of displacement. So the development in Singrauli led to destruction of its people.

Multinational companies take away the land of the farmers for the construction of industries. It may be beneficial for boosting production but at the same time it causes loss of cultivable land and livelihood of the farmers. Various movements have been launched against the acquisition of land from the farmers.

It is true to say that people have conflicting developmental goals. What may be the development for one may not be for the other. Different people have different interests, life situations and state of mind. They visualize things, actions, etc. according to their level of understanding.

For example, the construction of a flyover to reduce the congestion and traffic jams may be a development goal especially for the daily commuters. But for the construction of the flyover, surrounding houses, shops, etc. need to be demolished which may not be like by the occupants of these shops and houses. This may not be a development goal for them.

The three development goals of a boy from a rich urban family would be as follows: 

1. He may think to get a quality education and pursue his studies abroad.
2. He may require the availability of vocational education and training.
3. He may require a new laptop for research work.

The goals of development change from person to person. Different people have different goals. What may be development for others may be even be destruction for others. For instance, a landless rural labourers may desire more days of work and better wages, whereas a prosperous farmer may desire assured high family income through higher support price for their crops and through hard worsting and cheap labourers, children to be settled abroad. In fact, at times, two persons or groups may seek things which are conflicting.

Eg: The construction of hight dams is development for government. But for tribul people and the environment it is destruction

Human Development Index is a tool developed by the United Nations to measure and rank countries based on the level of social and economic development. The HDI makes it possible to track changes in development levels from time to time and to compare development levels in different countries. The concept of HDI goes beyond income and growth to cover overall development with the object of improving the conditions of people from all angles. The organization that measures the HDI is the United Nations. 

Three major indicators of the HDI are as follows.

Health: Without proper health facilities, no matter how much a country earns, it will not be able to provide basic facilities to its people. 

Education: Over the past few decades, education has become an important factor in leading a quality life. So, if the country has high income but the literacy rate is low, it cannot be considered developed. 

Security: More than income, people want to have a secured life. A country should be able to provides its citizens a sense of security.

The Human Development Report published by UNDP compares countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status and per capita income. India occupied the 130th position on the list out of the 188 countries in the Human Development Report, 2014.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has used these ideas to construct an index known as the ‘Human Development Index (HDI)’. The core capabilities of a country’s population are defined, measured and combined to derive the composite HDI. While health is measured in terms of life expectancy; education is measured in terms of literacy attainments; and purchasing power through per capita income. The average of Health, education, and purchasing power is the HDI.

Countries or states are often classified as developed or underdeveloped depending upon several factors. These factors range from per capita income to the death rate that is currently prevalent in the region. The comparison is often taken in the negative connotation, but in reality, it provides a clear picture of where a country or state’s development stands. Without comparison, It would be impossible to say whether the country or state’s development is progressing or not. Comparison helps us to understand the mechanics behind this difference in development and apply well thought out solutions to rectify the issues and problems that are hampering the development process.

The simplest form in which countries or states are compared is based on the per capita income. The World Development Report (WDR) is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank. It provides an in-depth analysis of various aspects of economic development.

One aspect that it uses is per capita income which is the total income of the country divided by its total population. Countries with per capita income of US$ 12236 per annum and above in 2016, are called rich countries and those with per capita income of US$ 1005 or less are called low-income countries. India comes in the category of low middle-income countries because its per capita income in 2016 was just US$ 1840 per annum. The rich countries, excluding countries of the Middle East and certain other small countries, are generally called developed countries.

The Human Development Report published by UNDP compares countries based on the educational levels of the people, their health status and per capita income. India occupied the 131st position on the list out of the 188 countries in the Human Development Report, 2016. Its neighbouring country, Sri Lanka had the 73rd rank on the same list.

If production is less and population is more it causes decrease in HDI. In India there is improper usage of National resource. Lack of skill and illiteracy are other reasons. No availability of nutritious food, lack of minimum requirements such as accommodation, clothing, drinking water. Besides education level decides the progress of country. Discrimination in gender and inequality of social, educational and economic condition. Women are paid wages less than m men. All these reasons for low HDI of India.

According to the UNDP, human development – or the human development approach - is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices. Human development focuses on two important aspects –

(a) It tries to directly enhance human abilities. Human development achieves the direct enhancement of human abilities by focussing on a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and by having a decent standard of living.

(b) It creates conditions for further human development. It achieves this by helping governments create policies and legislation to encourage participation in political and community life; through environmental sustainability; by enabling human rights and security and through ensuring gender equality.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living.

When a country has a high HDI, it essentially means that the lifespan is higher, the education levels are higher along with higher per capita income. This makes the country a developed country. Countries like USA, France Japan have high HDIs’ making them developed countries.

Sustainable development aims for maintaining the natural resources for the present as well as the future generations for consistent economic development. In the energy sector, sustainable development can arrest the rapid depletion of conventional resources. Finite nature of conventional resource forms like fossil fuels makes it imperative that resources are conserved to expand the time span of usage.

Sustainable development aims for maintaining the natural resources for the present as well as the future generations for consistent economic development. Methods through which development can be made sustainable include the following –

(a) Substitution – Development of substitutes is a major principle of sustainable development. Non -renewable energy resources like fossil fuels may be substituted with renewable energy resources.

(b) Recycling – Certain resources can be recycled up to a certain limit and hence the declining trend in its quantity can be arrested for a time span. Iron is such a resource. If iron scraps are recycled in the iron and steel industry it can lower the dependence on raw iron.

(c) Reduction of wastage – if wastages are reduced, a greater quantity of resources are available for consumption and it will lead to resource conservation.

(d) Development of awareness – No conservation programme with regards to sustainable development can be successful if the people are not involved. Awareness regarding the importance of resources is imperative for its conservation.

(e) Increased efficiency – Increased resource demand is met by the increased functional resource value from the same quantity of resource input. For e.g., modern fuel-efficient cars can cover longer distances for the same amount of petrol.