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India Advances to 130th on Human Development Index, Nears High Development Threshold

UNDP's 2025 report highlights India's progress in life expectancy, education, and AI leadership, while inequality remains a significant challenge.

Transit oriented development site at Karkardooma, East Delhi being developed by DDA. The planned densified mixed development is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and air pollution in New Delhi, India, on Friday, July 19, 2024. (Hindustan Times)
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The report is titled ‘A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence’. (UNDP)
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Overview

  • India's Human Development Index (HDI) score improved from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023, moving it from 133rd to 130th globally, according to the latest UNDP report.
  • Life expectancy in India reached 72 years in 2023, the highest since the HDI's inception, reflecting gains from national health programs like Ayushman Bharat and Poshan Abhiyaan.
  • Average years of schooling rose to 13 in 2023 from 8.2 in 1990, supported by reforms such as the Right to Education Act and the National Education Policy 2020.
  • Gross National Income (GNI) per capita increased over fourfold since 1990 to $9,046.76 (2021 PPP), lifting 135 million people out of multidimensional poverty between 2015–16 and 2019–21.
  • India leads globally in AI skills penetration and now retains 20% of its AI researchers, up from near-zero in 2019, but inequality continues to reduce its HDI by 30.7%.