Empirical study on Human Development Index of Indian States & UTs: Data and Calculation

Human Development Index Analysis of Indian States and Union Territories

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure that assesses the development level of regions based on three key dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. This analysis presents the calculation of HDI for all Indian states and union territories using the latest available data on life expectancy, education metrics, and per capita income. The results reveal significant disparities across regions, with Delhi, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh emerging as top performers while states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh require focused development efforts.

Methodology for HDI Calculation

The HDI calculation follows the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) methodology, which transforms indicators in different units into indices between 0 and 1 through normalization and then combines them using a geometric mean.

Health Dimension

The health dimension is measured by life expectancy at birth, which reflects the ability to lead a long and healthy life. The Health Index is calculated using the formula:

$\text{Health Index} = \frac{\text{Life Expectancy} - 20}{85 - 20}$

The minimum and maximum values are set at 20 years and 85 years respectively, representing theoretical boundaries for life expectancy. This normalization converts the life expectancy values into a dimensionless index between 0 and 1.

Education Dimension

The education dimension incorporates two indicators: Mean Years of Schooling (MYS) and Expected Years of Schooling (EYS). These metrics reflect the knowledge dimension of human development.

The MYS Index is calculated as:

$\text{MYS Index}=\frac{\text{Mean Years of Schooling}-0}{15-0}$

The EYS Index is calculated as:

$\text{EYS Index} = \frac{\text{Expected Years of Schooling} - 0}{18 - 0}$

The Education Index is then computed as the arithmetic mean of these two indices:

$\text{Education Index} = \frac{\text{MYS Index} + \text{EYS Index}}{2}$

The minimum values for both indicators are set at 0, while the maximum values are set at 15 years for MYS and 18 years for EYS, following UNDP standards.

Income Dimension

The income dimension is measured by per capita income in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars. To account for the diminishing marginal utility of higher incomes, a logarithmic transformation is applied.

The Income Index is calculated as:

$\text{Income Index} = \frac{\ln(\text{Per Capita Income}) - \ln(100)}{\ln(75000) - \ln(100)}$

The minimum income is set at $100 PPP and the maximum at $75,000 PPP, representing theoretical boundaries for income levels.

Calculating the HDI

Finally, the HDI is computed as the geometric mean of the three dimensional indices:

$\text{HDI} = (\text{Health Index} \times \text{Education Index} \times \text{Income Index})^{1/3}$

The geometric mean is preferred over the arithmetic mean as it penalizes disparity between dimensions, reflecting the philosophy that all dimensions of human development are equally important.

Analysis of State-wise HDI Performance

Overall HDI Rankings

The calculated HDI values reveal considerable variation across Indian states and union territories. The table below presents the comprehensive data including all input indicators and calculated indices:

State/UT	Mean Years of Schooling	Expected Years of Schooling	Life Expectancy	Per Capita Income (PPP$)	Health Index	Education Index	Income Index	HDI
Delhi	11.5	13.9	75.8	17230	0.858	0.766	0.770	0.797
Himachal Pradesh	9.6	13.2	73.5	21934	0.823	0.697	0.800	0.772
Kerala	10.8	15.2	75.0	11453	0.846	0.771	0.716	0.776
Puducherry	11.4	14.1	73.1	14256	0.817	0.769	0.746	0.777
Chandigarh	9.4	14.3	72.4	16329	0.806	0.715	0.764	0.761
Lakshadweep	11.1	13.5	73.0	11856	0.815	0.742	0.720	0.758
Jammu & Kashmir	8.3	13.1	74.3	10527	0.835	0.639	0.705	0.722
Goa	12.1	13.7	71.8	7956	0.797	0.792	0.666	0.750
Maharashtra	10.0	12.3	72.9	9996	0.814	0.692	0.694	0.731
A & N Islands	10.3	12.8	70.3	11523	0.773	0.708	0.717	0.732
Haryana	9.1	12.4	69.9	12080	0.768	0.652	0.724	0.713
Ladakh	8.9	13.1	73.2	10423	0.818	0.656	0.703	0.724
Tamil Nadu	9.2	12.8	73.2	5778	0.818	0.662	0.611	0.693
Sikkim	11.0	12.9	70.2	5134	0.772	0.735	0.594	0.695
Punjab	8.6	12.5	72.5	8595	0.808	0.633	0.675	0.703
Tripura	8.4	10.4	67.4	18820	0.729	0.578	0.779	0.693
Manipur	11.7	12.1	70.2	5791	0.772	0.754	0.612	0.710
Uttarakhand	9.8	12.0	70.6	6073	0.778	0.678	0.620	0.691
Telangana	8.5	11.9	70.0	11038	0.769	0.619	0.711	0.699
Karnataka	9.2	11.8	69.8	11453	0.766	0.647	0.716	0.709
Mizoram	10.5	13.1	70.1	4369	0.771	0.728	0.570	0.685
Nagaland	10.1	11.8	69.5	9372	0.762	0.686	0.686	0.710
Gujarat	8.3	10.9	70.5	5611	0.777	0.593	0.607	0.659
Andhra Pradesh	7.3	10.8	70.6	9481	0.778	0.543	0.688	0.663
Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Diu	8.2	10.7	67.3	10700	0.728	0.578	0.708	0.669
West Bengal	7.9	10.7	72.3	5035	0.805	0.563	0.592	0.647
Rajasthan	7.3	11.0	69.4	8342	0.760	0.550	0.671	0.657
Odisha	7.6	10.2	70.3	5859	0.773	0.546	0.613	0.641
Assam	8.3	10.3	67.9	8286	0.737	0.563	0.670	0.652
Meghalaya	10.0	11.2	67.8	3535	0.735	0.669	0.540	0.644
Arunachal Pradesh	7.2	12.0	69.4	5035	0.760	0.573	0.592	0.637
Jharkhand	7.6	9.8	69.6	3858	0.763	0.540	0.556	0.615
Madhya Pradesh	7.7	10.1	67.4	4352	0.729	0.547	0.570	0.613
Bihar	7.3	9.6	69.5	4678	0.762	0.510	0.581	0.609
Uttar Pradesh	7.7	10.0	66.0	3241	0.708	0.544	0.526	0.591
Chhattisgarh	8.2	10.2	65.1	2048	0.694	0.557	0.456	0.561
All India	8.4	12.6	70.0	6748	0.769	0.625	0.636	0.675

Regional Disparities in HDI Components

Health Dimension Analysis

The health dimension, measured through life expectancy, shows considerable variation across states. Delhi leads with the highest life expectancy of 75.8 years, resulting in a Health Index of 0.858. Kerala follows closely with a life expectancy of 75.0 years (Health Index: 0.846). At the lower end, Chhattisgarh has the lowest life expectancy at 65.1 years, translating to a Health Index of 0.694.

The national average life expectancy stands at 70.0 years, with a corresponding Health Index of 0.769. This highlights that while some states have made significant progress in health outcomes, others lag considerably behind. The 10.7-year gap between the highest and lowest life expectancy states indicates substantial health inequalities across the country.

Education Dimension Analysis

In the education dimension, Goa leads with the highest Mean Years of Schooling at 12.1 years, while Kerala tops in Expected Years of Schooling at 15.2 years. Consequently, Goa and Kerala have the highest Education Indices at 0.792 and 0.771 respectively.

States like Bihar (Education Index: 0.510), Jharkhand (0.540), and Andhra Pradesh (0.543) exhibit the lowest education indices. The disparity is particularly pronounced in Mean Years of Schooling, where the gap between the highest (Goa: 12.1 years) and lowest (Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh: 7.2-7.3 years) is almost 5 years.

The national average Education Index stands at 0.625, with significant room for improvement in most states, particularly in increasing the actual schooling years among the adult population.

Income Dimension Analysis

The income dimension reveals the starkest disparities among all HDI components. Himachal Pradesh has the highest per capita income at PPP$21,934, resulting in an Income Index of 0.800. Delhi and Tripura also perform well with Income Indices of 0.770 and 0.779 respectively.

At the lower end, Chhattisgarh has the lowest per capita income at PPP$2,048, translating to an Income Index of just 0.456. Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya also have low Income Indices at 0.526 and 0.540 respectively.

The massive gap between the highest and lowest per capita incomes (over PPP$19,000) reflects the economic disparities that persist across Indian states and territories.

Regional HDI Patterns and Policy Implications

High-performing Regions

The regions with the highest HDI values demonstrate balanced development across all dimensions. Delhi (HDI: 0.797), Kerala (0.776), and Himachal Pradesh (0.772) achieve high scores through different paths. Delhi excels in income and health, Kerala in education and health, while Himachal Pradesh balances all three dimensions well.

These high-performing regions share some common characteristics:

• Strong public health systems resulting in higher life expectancy

• Well-developed educational infrastructure and high literacy rates

• Better economic opportunities and higher per capita incomes

These states provide models for balanced development that other states could potentially emulate, with each offering different strategies based on their particular strengths.

Low-performing Regions

States with the lowest HDI values include Chhattisgarh (0.561), Uttar Pradesh (0.591), and Bihar (0.609). These states face challenges across all dimensions, but particularly struggle with:

• Lower per capita incomes and economic opportunities

• Lower education levels, especially in Mean Years of Schooling

• Health infrastructure gaps reflected in lower life expectancy

These states would benefit from targeted interventions across all three dimensions, with particular emphasis on improving economic opportunities and basic infrastructure to enable better health and education outcomes.

The Middle Band

A large number of states fall in the middle HDI range (0.650-0.750), including Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, and West Bengal. These states typically show uneven development across dimensions, excelling in one or two areas while lagging in others. For instance, West Bengal performs well in health but lags in education and income, while Telangana shows stronger income performance but moderate health and education outcomes.

Analysis of Human Development Index (HDI) Across Indian States and Union Territories

This report provides a detailed analysis of the Human Development Index (HDI) across Indian states and union territories using visualizations such as bar graphs, pie charts, and scatter plots. The HDI is a composite measure of development incorporating health, education, and income dimensions. The analysis reveals significant variations in HDI values across regions, highlighting disparities in human development.

Visualization and Analysis

1. Bar Graph: HDI Values Across Indian States and Union Territories

The bar graph provides a ranked comparison of HDI values for all states and union territories. The states/UTs are sorted in descending order of HDI to highlight top-performing and low-performing regions.

Observations:

• Top Performers: Delhi (HDI: 0.797), Puducherry (HDI: 0.777), and Kerala (HDI: 0.776) are the top three regions with the highest HDI values. These regions demonstrate balanced progress in health, education, and income dimensions.

• Lowest Performers: Chhattisgarh (HDI: 0.561), Uttar Pradesh (HDI: 0.591), and Bihar (HDI: 0.609) rank at the bottom, reflecting significant challenges across all dimensions of human development.

• National Average: The "All India" HDI value is 0.675, placing it in the medium development category.

This visualization highlights stark disparities in human development across regions, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions in low-performing areas.

2. Pie Chart: Proportion of States/UTs by HDI Range

The pie chart categorizes states/UTs into three HDI ranges:

• High HDI (>0.75)

• Medium HDI (0.65–0.75)

• Low HDI (<0.65)

  

Observations:

• High HDI: Only 16.2% of states/UTs fall into the high HDI category, indicating that relatively few regions have achieved advanced levels of human development.

• Medium HDI: The majority of states/UTs (59.5%) are in the medium HDI range, suggesting moderate progress but room for improvement.

• Low HDI: Approximately 24.3% of states/UTs are in the low HDI category, highlighting significant development challenges.

This distribution underscores the uneven progress in human development across India, with a large proportion of states still requiring substantial improvements to achieve high development levels.

3. Scatter Plot: Relationship Between Health Index and HDI

The scatter plot examines the relationship between the Health Index (a component of HDI) and overall HDI values.

Observations:

• A positive correlation is evident between the Health Index and HDI, indicating that regions with better health outcomes tend to have higher overall human development.

• Outliers include regions like Delhi that perform exceptionally well in health and income but may have disparities in education.

• Low-performing states like Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh exhibit both low Health Index values and low overall HDI scores.

This analysis highlights the critical role of health outcomes in driving overall human development, reinforcing the need for investments in healthcare infrastructure and services.

Overall Analysis

Key Insights:

1. Regional Disparities: There are significant disparities in human development across Indian states/UTs, with some regions achieving high levels of development comparable to developed nations while others lag behind.

2. Health as a Driver: Health outcomes strongly influence overall human development, as evidenced by the positive correlation between the Health Index and HDI.

3. Education Gaps: While some states like Kerala excel in education metrics, others like Bihar and Jharkhand exhibit significant gaps, particularly in Mean Years of Schooling.

4. Economic Inequality: The Income Index reveals stark economic disparities across regions, with per capita incomes ranging from PPP$2,048 (Chhattisgarh) to PPP$21,934 (Himachal Pradesh).

Policy Implications:

• Targeted Interventions: Low-performing states require targeted interventions across all dimensions of human development, particularly health and education.

• Balanced Development: High-performing states demonstrate that balanced progress across health, education, and income dimensions is essential for achieving high levels of human development.

• Reducing Inequalities: Addressing economic inequalities through inclusive growth policies can help bridge gaps between high-income and low-income regions.

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