India (Commonwealth Union)_ According to the latest report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India has become one of the top countries with high income and wealth inequality. While the population living in multidimensional poverty decreased significantly from 25 to 15 percent between 2015-2016 and 2019-2021, the 2024 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report articulates a nuanced narrative of progress and persistent disparities. It forecasts a dynamic development landscape, underscoring the urgent need for innovative approaches to bolster human development.
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Over the span of two decades, India witnessed a substantial surge in per capita income, escalating from USD 442 in 2000 to USD 2,389 by 2022. Concurrently, poverty rates, based on the international measure of USD 2.15 per day, dropped from 40 to 10 percent between 2004 and 2019. The report, titled ‘Making our Future: New Directions for Human Development in Asia and the Pacific,’ emphasizes the necessity for immediate action to address unmet aspirations, growing human insecurity, and the prospect of a more unpredictable future.
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Despite the decrease in multidimensional poverty, the report highlights the persistence of poverty concentrated in states hosting 45 percent of India’s population yet containing 62 percent of its impoverished citizens. The UNDP underlines the vulnerability of groups hovering near the poverty line, including women, informal workers, and inter-state migrants. The report said, “In addition, many other people are very vulnerable, hovering just above the poverty line. The groups at greater risk of falling back into poverty include women, informal workers, and inter-state migrants”.
While acknowledging the exponential growth, the report underscores rising wealth inequality post-2000, with women accounting for only 23 percent of the labor force in the backdrop of accelerated economic growth and enduring disparities in income distribution. India is forecast to contribute significantly to the expansion of the global middle class, with an estimated 24 percent of global middle-class growth, comprising 192 million people. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to drive two-thirds of global economic growth this year, but income and wealth disparities are worsening, particularly in South Asia. The wealthiest 10 percent in this region control over half of the total income, while more than 185 million people persist in extreme poverty, a figure expected to rise in the aftermath of the economic upheavals caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing investments in human development. The report stresses three critical pathways for human development: emphasizing people-centered development, recalibrating growth strategies to foster job creation and environmental conservation, and a relentless focus on reform and effective implementation to translate ideas into reality. Wignaraja advocates for policy strategies that prioritize people and sustainable growth, signaling a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous future for millions across the globe.
Wignaraja said, “The report underscores that to overcome existing challenges, we must prioritize investments in human development, with an understanding that each nation will tailor its own pathways to do so. By fostering a people-first policy and smart growth strategies that put a high value on natural assets, we can pave the way for a future that is not only more secure and peaceful but also sustainable and prosperous for many millions more”.
