Subir Roy: Great growth, poor quality of life

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
	Life expectancy(1)				Infant mortality(2)				HDI Index score
	1990	Rank	2005	Rank	1991	Rank	2005	Rank	1990	Rank	2005	Rank
India	59.1	6	63.7	5	90	5	56	7	0.521	6	0.619	6
Bangladesh	51.8	7	63.1	6	111	6	54	5	0.422	7	0.547	7
China	70.1	1	72.5	2	29	1	23	3	0.634	5	0.777	4
Brazil	65.6	4	71.7	3	59	4	31	4	0.723	4	0.8	3
Russia	69.1	3	65	4	...		14	1	0.815	1	0.802	2
S Africa	61.7	5	50.8	7	55	3	55	6	0.731	3	0.674	5
Mexico	69.7	2	75.6	1	37	2	22	2	0.768	2	0.829	1

	Child malnutrition(3)				Maternal mortality(4)				% Change in HDI Index
	1990	Rank	2005	Rank	1988	Rank	2005	Rank	2005/1990	Rank
India	63	4	47	6	550	6	450	6	19	3
Bangladesh	66	5	48	7	650	7	570	7	30	1
China	21	3	8	3	130	2	45	2	23	2
Brazil	7	1	6	2	230	4	110	4	11	4
Russia	...		3	1	45	1	28	1	-2	6
S Africa	...		12	5	250	5	400	5	-8	7
Mexico	14	2	8	3	150	3	60	3	8	5

	Adult literacy(5)				Per capita real GDP(6)
	1990	Rank	2005	Rank	1990	Rank	2005	Rank
India	48.2	6	61	5	1,072	6	3,452	6
Bangladesh	35.3	7	47.5	6	872	7	2,051	7
China	73.3	4	90.9	3	1,990	5	6,757	5
Brazil	81.1	3	88.6	4	4,718	4	8,401	4
Russia	94	1	99.4	1	7,968	1	10,845	2
S Africa	70	5		...	4,865	3	11,110	1
Mexico	87.6	2	91.6	2	5,918	2	10,751	3
(1) in years, at birth (2) per thousand live births (3) % under 5 years who are underweight (4) per 1,000 live births (5) % above 15 who can read (6) in PPP dollars

 Perhaps the single-most important determinant of the level and quality of development is the health status of the mother and child. If there is grossly unequal distribution of income along with low average levels of income then it will show up in mother and child indices. In infant mortality, India ranks seventh in 2005, after losing two ranks during the reform period. China has also lost two ranks (to third), with South Africa faring the worst (losing three ranks) during the period (again the consequences of aids). Brazil and Mexico have held their ranks. China and India may have lost out equally on rank but China's absolute infant mortality rate is less than half of India's.

India's performance in infant mortality is repeated in child malnutrition. It remains virtually at the bottom of the ladder, along with Bangladesh with the same level of malnutrition. Nearly half the children under five in the two countries are under weight. The picture in maternal mortality is interesting in that there is no change in the rank of any country during the period. India and Bangladesh occupy the bottom of the list, followed by South Africa. But maternal mortality in India is 10 times that in China and close to that in South Africa! India, Bangladesh and South Africa form a cluster of low performers, whereas Russia, Brazil, Mexico and China form a cluster of high performers.

In adult literacy, India, Bangladesh and China have all improved their ranks by one during the period. But in terms of absolute achievement, China belongs to a different league, taking its place alongside Brazil, Russia and Mexico.

The human development index includes the element of income along with other indicators. Since India has clearly made good progress on the income front, a development index calculated without the income element will yield a slightly poorer score than the score in the chart. So during the reform period, progress measured by independent (non-income) indices of human development comes second to progress measured by income. But there has been progress also in terms of human development.

The policy prescription that emerges is that while the past has not been a washout, the future must continue to pursue high growth while distributing its benefits better. For the aam admi this azadi is not jhoothi, but it has to become more meethi.