Focus on the people; New report must serve as a wake-up call

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The cause of concern for sinking HDI in India is being reflected in terms of stark reality in even 62 years after Independence for not being able to achieve basic minimum quality of life for the citizen.

 

Editorial Tribune, 7th Oct.,09

 

Focus on the people_New report must serve as a wake-up call

The annual Human Development Report released on Monday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) indicates that India has slipped six points on the Human Development Index over the previous year while China has moved up by seven points at the same time. Comparisons are odious and rankings, India at 134 and China at 92, do not always tell the full story. It would not have made much difference either if India were to move up by a few points, because the stark reality is that even 62 years after Independence, we have not succeeded in ensuring a basic minimum quality of life for the citizen. Despite a better GDP growth rate and remarkable progress in

several areas, large sections of people continue to wallow in poverty, remain illiterate, suffer from poor health and are deprived of jobs. The country’s progress is grossly ill-balanced.

The thrust of the report has been on migration and it makes the timely point that migrants all over the world have benefited themselves and also the community they served. UNDP studies call the bluff on age-old beliefs that migrants are parasites and hijack job-prospects of the local population. It is an interesting point in the context of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance’s electoral promise to impose restrictions on the movement of people to Mumbai and other urban centres. The report also establishes that contrary to popular belief, much of the migration world-wide is taking place within the same country and not from the developing to the developed countries.

The UNDP report has been an annual feature since 1990 and seeks to remind nations about the key challenge of focusing on people. As the report itself describes it, “ Development is about people realising their potential, increasing their choices and enjoying the freedom to lead lives they value.†Previous UNDP reports had warned about a drop in agricultural production in the country as a result of changing rainfall pattern and also predicted increased exposure to droughts, floods and storms that it feared would destroy opportunities and reinforce inequalities. Its worst fears seem to be coming true but the new report would hopefully be a wake-up call.

 

Thank you very much.

With warm personal regards,

 

Nikhil

Dr. Surender N. Gupta,

MBBS; PGDHHM;PGDMCH;PGCHFWM; FAIMS;MA (Phil);MAE (Epidemiology) Faculty, Regional Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, CHHEB, Kangra-Himachal Pradesh, India. Pin-176001.

01892-265472 (Fax); 01892-263472 (Office)Mobile: 094181-28634.

E-mail IDs: drsurendernikhil

drnikhilsurender

--- On Tue, 10/6/09, surendernikhil gupta <drsurendernikhil wrote:

surendernikhil gupta <drsurendernikhil[allindiamdmsdoctorsassociation] India fares poorly in quality of life"ifanet india" <ifanet-india (AT) googl (DOT) com>, "IAPSM" <iapsm_youthmembers >, "Diseasesurveillance group" <diseasesurveillance >Cc: "Hospital management" <hosp_admn_india >, "" , "allindiamdmsdoctorsassociation" <allindiamdmsdoctorsassociation >Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 8:30 PM

 

 

 

 

 

Slips to 134th rank among 182 countries on Human Development Index.

The slip represents poor progress on some indicators of people’s well-being, including life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita.

 

 

Aditi TandonTribune News ServiceNew Delhi, October 5While this year China figures among the only five countries across the world that improved their Human Development Index (HDI) rankings by three or more points, India continues to cut a sorry figure, slipping six points (from the last compilation) in the latest UNDP Human Development Index. Overall, however, India made progress on HDI, improving its value from 0.556 in 2000 to 0.612 in 2007.As against a standing of 128 in the previous year’s UN Human Development Report, India has been ranked 134th among the 182 nations surveyed in the latest report released globally in Bangkok and

nationally in the Capital today.The slip represents poor progress on some indicators of people’s well-being, including life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita. In China (ranked 92), along with Colombia, France, Peru and Venezuela, which improved their rankings by at least three points, the fillip has been attributed to increase in incomes and life expectancy. China, Colombia and Venezuela’s progress has also been driven by improvement in education, states this year’s report titled ‘Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development’ that focuses on migration. The report, released by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, concludes that disparities in life expectancy in the world can range up to 30 years. Despite progress in the last 25 years, disparities in

people’s well-being in rich and poor countries continue to be unacceptably wide. The report was introduced here by Patrice Coeur-Bizot, resident representative of the UNDP.This year’s report represents the most extensive coverage ever of 182 countries. As for rankings, the top three ranked countries in the HDI are - Norway, Australia and Iceland. France rejoined the top 10 countries after dropping down for one year, while Luxembourg fell from the top 10.Thank you very much.

With warm personal regards,

 

Nikhil

Dr. Surender N. Gupta,

MBBS; PGDHHM;PGDMCH; PGCHFWM; FAIMS;MA (Phil);MAE (Epidemiology) Faculty, Regional Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, CHHEB, Kangra-Himachal Pradesh, India. Pin-176001.

01892-265472 (Fax); 01892-263472 (Office)Mobile: 094181-28634.

E-mail IDs: drsurendernikhil@

drnikhilsurender@ gmail.com