UPSC Daily Current Affairs- September 09, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID has initiated steps to retrieve six Chola-era bronze idols, stolen from the Nareeswara Sivan temple, Tamil Nadu back in the 1960s, and currently kept at various museums in the United States.

• The idols were successfully traced to the US recently with the help of the images available with the Indo-French Institute, Pondicherry, which had documented nine bronze sculptures in 1956. Of them, seven were stolen five decades ago.
• The institute had provided images of antique Panchaloha idols of Tripuranthakam, Thirupurasundari, Nataraja, Dakshinamurthy Veenadhara, and Saint Sundarar with his wife Paravai Natchiyaar.

How was the Medieval Chola Dynasty?

• About
  • The Cholas (8^th-12^th century AD) are remembered as one of the longest ruling dynasties in the southern regions of India.
  • The reign of the Cholas began in the 9^th century when they defeated the Pallavas to come into power. This rule stretched over for over five long centuries until the 13^th century.
  • The medieval period was the era of absolute power and development for the Cholas. This is when kings like Aditya I and Parantaka I.
  • From here Rajaraj Chola and Rajendra Chola further expanded the kingdom into the Tamil region. Later Kulothunga Chola took over Kalinga to establish a strong rule.
  • This magnificence lasted until the arrival of the Pandyas in the early 13th century.
• Prominent Monarchs
  • Vijayalaya: The Chola Empire was founded by Vijayalaya. He took over the Tanjore kingdom in the 8^th century and led to the rise of the mighty Cholas by defeating the Pallavas.
  • Aditya I: Aditya I succeeded Vijayalaya to become the ruler of the empire. He defeated king Aparajita and the empire gained massive power under his reign. He conquered the Pandya Kings along with the Vadumbas and established control over the Pallavas' power in the region.
  • Rajendra Chola: He succeeded the mighty Rajaraja Chola. Rajendra I was the first to venture to the banks of Ganges. He was popularly called the Victor of the Ganges. This period is referred to as the golden age of the Cholas. After his rule, the kingdom witnessed a widespread downfall.
• Administration And Governance
  • During the governance by the Cholas, the entire southern region was brought under the umbrella of a single governing force. The Cholas ruled in a sustained Monarchy.
  • The massive kingdom was divided into provinces which were known as mandalams.
  • Separate governors were held in charge for each mandalam.
  • These were further divided into districts called nadus which consisted of tehsils.
  • The system of rule was such that each village acted as a self-governing unit during the era of the Cholas. The Cholas were ardent patrons of art, poetry, literature and drama, the administration was seen investing in the construction of several temples and complexes with sculptures and paintings.
  • The king remained the central authority who would make the major decisions and carry out the governance.
• Architecture
  • Chola architecture (871-1173 AD) was the epitome of the Dravida style of temple architecture.
  • They produced some of the most grandeur temples in medieval India.
  • Chola temples like Brihadeshwara temple, Rajarajeshwara temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple took Dravidian architecture to newer heights. Temple architecture continued to flourish even after Cholas.

What are the Key Points of Cholas Sculpture?

• An important piece of Chola sculpture was the sculpture of Nataraja in the Tandava dance posture.
  • Though the earliest known Nataraja sculpture, which has been excavated at Ravana phadi cave at Aihole, was made during the early Chalukya rule, the sculpture reached its peak under the Cholas.
• The later phase of Chola art, in the 13^th century, is illustrated by the sculpture showing Bhudevi, or the earth goddess as the younger consort of Vishnu. She stands in a gracefully flexed attitude on a lotus base holding a lily in her right hand, while the left arm hangs along her side.
• Chola bronze images are considered amongst the finest in the world.

GS-II

Context

India and China have announced that their Armies have begun to disengage from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot springs area at LAC.

What is LAC- the Line of Actual Control?

• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
• It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
• The LAC is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map nor demarcated on the ground.

What is the disagreement?

• The alignment of the LAC in the eastern sector is along the 1914 McMahon Line, and there are minor disputes about the positions on the ground as per the principle of the high Himalayan watershed.
• The major disagreements are in the western sector where the LAC emerged from two letters written by Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, after he had first mentioned such a ‘line’ in 1956.

When did India accept the LAC?

• The LAC was discussed during Chinese Premier Li Peng’s 1991 visit to India, where PM P V Narasimha Rao and Li reached an understanding to maintain peace and tranquillity at the LAC.
• India formally accepted the concept of the LAC when Rao paid a return visit to Beijing in 1993 and the two sides signed the Agreement to Maintain Peace and Tranquillity at the LAC.
• The reference to the LAC was unqualified to make it clear that it was not referring to the LAC of 1959 or 1962 but to the ‘LAC’ at the time when the agreement was signed.
• To reconcile the differences about some areas, the two countries agreed that the Joint Working Group on the border issue would take up the task of clarifying the alignment of the LAC.

How was the disengagement carried on?

• As per the understanding reached earlier on disengagement, a buffer zone is to be created at the friction points.
• Once troops are withdrawn by both sides, new patrolling norms are to be worked out after complete disengagement and de-escalation.

Why sudden disengagement?

• The move comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan next week.
• However, neither side has, so far, confirmed if the two leaders would hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.
• The leaders have not spoken to each other since a November 2019 meeting during the BRICS Summit in Brasilia and the beginning of the stand-off in April 2020.

Significance of the disengagement

• Since the stand-off began in May 2020, the two sides have so far held 16 rounds of talks.
• Earlier, disengagement was undertaken from both sides of Pangong Tso in February 2021, and from PP-17 in the Gogra-Hot springs area in August, in addition to Galwan in 2020 after the violent clash.
• The friction points that remain now are Demchok and Depsang, which China has constantly refused to accept, maintaining that they are not a part of the current stand-off.

What was the dispute over LAC?

• In what was the worst clash between the two countries in over 40 years, the Galwan incident reverberated around the world.
• The casualties in the clash were the first in the disputed Sino-Indian border since 1975.
• The Galwan episode led to a rapid build-up of forces on both sides of the Line of Actual Control.
• This incident is being seen as major punctuation in the bilateral relations between India and China and what does the future hold for both neighbors.

Is the LAC also the claim line for both countries?

• Not for India. India’s claim line is the line seen in the official boundary marked on the maps as released by the Survey of India, including both Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan.
• In China’s case, it corresponds mostly to its claim line, but in the eastern sector, it claims entire Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet.
• However, the claim lines come into question when a discussion on the final international boundaries takes place, and not when the conversation is about a working border, say the LAC.

Why are these claim lines controversial in Ladakh?

• When the Shimla Agreement on the McMahon Line was signed by British India, Aksai Chin in Ladakh province of the princely state of J&K was not part of British India, although it was a part of the British Empire.
• Thus, the eastern boundary was well defined in 1914 but in the west in Ladakh, it was not.
• India, in July 1948, had two maps: one had no boundary shown in the western sector, only a partial colour wash; the second one extended the colour wash in yellow to the entire state of J&K, but mentioned “boundary undefined”.

Context

Bihar is preparing to make glass bangles out of seized liquor bottles, through its Rural Livelihoods Promotion Programme, known as JEEViKA.

• These bottles will be given to JEEViKA workers who have been trained in bangle-making. The programme will set up a factory for this.
• Funded by the World Bank, JEEViKA is a rural social and economic empowerment programme that comes under Bihar’s rural development department.

What is the Economic Viability of the Move?

• Some are apprehensive about the economic viability of the government’s new “innovative” idea of making glass bangles out of seized liquor bottles.
• It may sound like an innovative idea but in making glass bangles other materials too are used like limestone and soda.
• There are several small and big established factories in places like Faizabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad which constitute about 80% of glass bangle-making products.
• The seized illegal liquor bottles will not be enough to sustain a glass bangle-making factory’s economic viability.

What are Bihar’s Liquor Prohibition and Related Issues?

• About
  • Introduced on 5 April 2016, the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, imposed a total ban on alcohol in the state.
  • In March 2022, the Bihar assembly passed a Bill amending the prohibition Act.
  • Called the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the law says people caught consuming liquor will now have to pay a fine before a magistrate and won’t be sent to jail.
    • The amendment is still awaiting implementation after the Patna High Court voiced its reservations about judicial power being vested in officials designated as special executive magistrates in districts and subdivisions.
• Issues
  • As a result, the old system of arrest continues — data from the excise department shows that in August 2022 alone, 30,000 persons were arrested for violating liquor laws.
  • The liquor prohibition policy has been the subject of many controversies — chief among them is the allegation that the law has choked up the state’s judicial processes.
  • Liquor law violations have led to overcrowding of jails in Bihar. There are around 1.5 lakh people in Bihar jails for the violations.
    • Most of them belong to the lower and downtrodden classes of society who can’t bribe their way out of prison.

Context

Success of new education policy depends on how we recruit and assesss teachers.

What is the issue?

• Recruitment of well-qualified teachers into the schooling system is the first prerequisite to ensure that students receive quality education.
• However, teacher recruitment processes in the country are not adequately streamlined. There are diverse recruitment processes across regions, school stages, and school types central, state, and private schools.
• This, in turn, leads to multiple criteria and processes for hiring teachers, thereby bringing a wide disparity in teacher quality across institutions and regions.
• Many of the processes are also sub-optimal in measuring the competency of a candidate.

Teacher hiring mechanism in place

• One of the most common and widely-taken tests to ensure eligibility for recruitment is the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), conducted at both the state (STET) and central levels (CTET).
• TET is the equivalent of the licensure tests that are undertaken by teacher candidates in various countries.
• However, in India, the test is required only for government school teacher recruitment at the elementary stage (Class 1-8).

What we need?

• A coherent strategy: to tie together the various tests and processes such as TET, teacher recruitment tests, classroom demonstrations and teacher interviews. This will enable a holistic assessment of teacher competence.
• Understanding what is competence: Framing a common understanding of what qualifies as teacher competence. Simply speaking, teacher competence can be understood as the core knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of a teacher to effectively contribute to the teaching-learning process.
• Multiple methods of assessment: To evaluate several other skills and dispositions, one requires multiple methods of assessment including classroom demonstrations and teacher interviews. These assessments could help gauge skills like effective dissemination of a concept and selection of appropriate resources and learning materials.
• Teacher’s aptitude: Most importantly, such processes should help evaluate a teacher’s empathy towards students. Respecting learner diversity and skills in building a participative/democratic classroom culture are crucial requisites of a teacher. The recruitment process should assess the teacher’s aptitude in this respect.
• A comprehensive competency framework: That details the skills a teacher should have. This could be derived from a teacher education curriculum rooted in policy perspectives of the day. For instance, in the case of the NEP, the curriculum could be geared towards imparting training in classroom practices that make learning joyful.

Long-term benefits to adopting such a holistic model of teacher recruitment

• Better parity: It will ensure better parity in the quality of teachers recruited across the country.
• Equitable education: Will contribute to equitable education for students from diverse sections of society.
• Credibility is ensured: The recruitment process will also become credible if it is rooted in a framework that outlines the core competencies of becoming a teacher.
• Reduction in coaching centres: At the systemic level, this may also lead to a reduction in coaching centres as the assessment processes will be non-standardised and cannot be easily gleaned from coaching materials and guidebooks.

Conclusion

• Teachers with a passion for the profession are foundational to the positive educational change envisaged by the NEP. 
• Setting up clear benchmarks of quality and well-designed recruitment processes hold the key to ensuring better teaching-learning outcomes.

Context

The Government of India is ready to incorporate the Yehzabo, the Naga Constitution, into the Indian Constitution and has agreed for a civil and cultural flag for the Nagas.

• Naga separatists group has timely reiterated that the ‘Naga National flag’ and ‘Yehzabo’ (Constitution) are non-negotiable issues.

Who are the Naga?

• The term Naga was created by the British for administrative convenience to refer to a group of tribes with similar origins but distinct cultures, dialects, and customs.
• The Naga tribes are accumulated in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Myanmar.

Has the GoI agreed to this?

• The Centre is clear that there cannot be two Constitutions and two flags in the country.
• The Yehzabo will be incorporated into the Indian Constitution by presenting a Bill in Parliament.
• As far as flag is concerned, it will only be used for civil and cultural functions, but not in any government function.

Why did the Naga insurgency begin?

• Residing in the Naga Hills of Assam during the advent of the British and the annexation of Assam in 1820, the Nagas did not consider themselves a part of British India.
• The British adopted a way of governance over the Nagas that involved keeping in place their traditional ways of life, customs, and laws while putting British administrators at the top.
• At the time of the withdrawal of the British, insecurity grew among the Naga tribes about the future of their cultural autonomy after India’s independence.
• This was accompanied by the fear of the entry of “plains people” or “outsiders” into their territory.

Collective actions of the Nagas

• Above mentioned factors gave rise to the formation of the Naga Hills District Tribal Council in 1945, which was renamed the Naga National Council (NNC) in 1946.
• Amid uncertainties over the post-independence future of the Nagas, a section of the NNC, led by Naga leader A.Z. Phizo declared the independence of the Nagas on August 14, 1947.
• The underground insurgency began in the early 1950s when Mr. Phizo founded the Naga Federal Government (NFG) and its armed wing, the Naga Federal Army (NFA).

Outcome of the then insurgency

• The Central Government sent the armed forces into Naga areas to curb the insurgency.
• It imposed the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which is still in place in parts of Nagaland.
• The Nagas, led by Mr. Phizo, demanding an independent state outside of India, boycotted the 1952 and 1957 general elections and armed clashes grew.
• Unlike other groups in the north east which were accepting some form of autonomy under the Constitution, Nagas rejected this in favour of sovereignty.

When did the NSCN come into the picture?

• This signing of the Shillong Accord was not agreeable with many top leaders of the NNC and those operating from Myanmar.
• A/c to them, the agreement did not address the issue of Naga sovereignty and coerced them to accept the Constitution.
• Three NNC rebel leaders, formed the National Socialist Council Of Nagaland (NSCN) to continue the armed movement for ‘independence’.

Again split in NSCN

• In 1988, after years of infighting and violent clashes along tribal lines and over the main cause of the movement, the NSCN split into two factions.
• One, led by Mr. Muiwah and Swu called the NSCN-IM and the other, led by Mr. Khaplang called the NSCN-K.
• The NSCN-IM demanded and continues to demand for ‘Greater Nagaland’ or Nagalim.
• It wants to extend Nagaland’s borders by including Naga-dominated areas in the neighbouring States of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The NSCN-IM has now grown to become the most powerful insurgent group, also playing a role in the creation of smaller groups in other States.

Issues of contention

• Independence celebration: Nagas across Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh celebrate August 14 as Independence Day. According to Naga historians, Gandhi agreed that the Nagas would celebrate their independence a day ahead of India, on August 14, 1947.
• Naga flag: In the Naga narrative, passed down generations by word of mouth, the Naga flag was not designed by a mortal but is of divine origin.
• Secessionist tendencies: A large section of the Nagas still holds dear the idea of the Naga identity and their tribal roots.

Context

Prime Minister Modi has tweeted his condolences and hoped for an early restoration of normalcy in flood devastated Pakistan. 

• The statement by the PM last month came as a surprise to many.
• This is on the grounds of steady deterioration of ties over the last eight years since Modi came to power.

PM Modi and Pakistan

• Early failure
  • PM Modi had famously begun his tenure with an invitation to Pakistan’s then PM Nawaz Sharif for the swearing-in ceremony in May 2014.
  • Sharif had come to India, along with the leaders of other SAARC nations.
  • This gesture promised a new beginning for the bilateral relationship that had suffered a severe setback after the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
  • However, a string of incidents followed, the terrorist attacks in Pathankot and Uri — impacted the relationship negatively, and New Delhi made it clear that “talks and terror can’t go together”.
• India strengthens resolute
  • Ties have been hit further over the last few years, especially after the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019, and the abrogation of Article 370 in August that year.
  • That led to the downsizing of the High Commissions in both capitals; there are no full-time High Commissioners in either country now.

Change of PM in Pak

• After the ouster of Imran Khan, and the coming to power of the new coalition government led by PM Shehbaz Sharif, some positive noises have emanated from Islamabad.
• India however reiterated the desired peace and stability in a region free of terrorism.
• New Pak PM criticized his predecessor, Imran Khan, for not making “serious and diplomatic efforts” when India abrogated Article 370 in August 2019.

Responses to disasters

• In the past, when natural disasters struck India and Pakistan, the two countries at times reached out to each other with offers of help.
  • Bhuj earthquake: For example, in January-February 2001, after the earthquake hit Bhuj in Gujarat, Pakistan had reached out with help, and had sent tents and blankets for the survivors.
  • 2005 earthquake: A powerful earthquake struck both India and Pakistan, India sent aircraft with relief supplies to Pakistan and pledged $ 25 million through the United Nations to support Pakistan’s relief efforts.
• In 2010, when a “superflood” — the worst in recent decades until the deluge of 2022 — hit Pakistan, India offered $ 5 million in help, but Islamabad declined to accept it.

Why should India respond?

• For the Indian government, the case for extending humanitarian help ties in well with its desire to project itself as the “first responder” in times of disaster and crisis in the neighbourhood.
• In recent months and years, India has extended its hand of help and cooperation to the Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.
• Trucks filled with Indian grain have travelled to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan via Pakistan.

What is Pakistan’s position?

• Pakistan’s establishment (none other but Pak Army) has discussed the possibility of getting food grains through international organisations, who want to send relief material from India.
• The help from India can be at the micro and short-term level: food, fuel, tents, medicines, and emergency essential supplies.
• At the macro and medium-to-long-term, it could involve help in the reconstruction of damaged homes and properties, and the archaeological site of Mohenjo Daro, part of the cultural heritage of both countries.
• India’s healthcare can be of help in the post-floods scenario — dengue is already on the rise, and diseases such as typhoid are expected to spike sharply.

Issues in re-engagement

• Some in the Indian establishment believe that the government’s stated policy of talks and terror can’t go together, and the extending of help to Pakistan are at odds with each other.
• For New Delhi, the decision is as much about projecting power as a global responder as with managing the ruling party’s domestic political base.

GS-III

Context

Recently, experts have expressed the concern that the presence of invasive and non-native south Red-Eared Slider Turtles would lead to the extinction of native species of their own kind.

• India is home to 29 freshwater turtles and tortoise species of the 356 turtle species recognised worldwide and around 80%of them are threatened.

What do we need to know about the Red-Eared Slider Turtle?

• About
  • The red-eared slider is primarily aquatic and will emerge from the water for basking on rocks and logs.
    • When basking, red-eared sliders commonly pile on top of each other, and when startled by the sound or sight of a potential predator, they will slide off their basking spot back into the water, hence their name, “slider.”
  • Red-eared slider turtles are classified as controlled pest animals under the Victorian Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
• Scientific Name: Trachemys scripta elegans
• Habitat: They can tolerate a wide range of habitats and are sometimes found in estuaries and coastal wetlands with brackish water.
  • They can also tolerate a range of water quality and accept high levels of organic pollutants such as effluent and inorganic pollutants.
• Geography: The red-eared slider is native to South-Eastern USA and Mexico.
• Protection Status
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern
  • CITES: N/A
  • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: N/A
• Distinctive Features
  • They have a broad red or orange stripe behind each eye with narrow yellow stripes marking the rest of the black body, neck, legs and tail.
  • They have distinctive long claws on their front and hind legs where claws are longer and more prominent in males than females.
  • They retract their head straight back into their shell when threatened. Native turtles tuck their neck to one side underneath the shell.

Why is the Turtle’s Presence in India a Concern?

• Favorable Pet: In India, keeping indigenous turtles as pets is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.
  • But the foreign breeds are not restricted and are kept as pets in many families across India.
  • They are small and easy-to-maintain species and therefore a hit in the pet market.
  • The species breeds faster compared to other local turtle varieties. As their size increases, they no longer fit in small tanks or ponds.
    • The owners release them in the wild or nearby waterbodies and once released, they become a threat to the local fauna.
• Presence in India: In India, these turtles are mainly found in urban wetlands such as Sukhna lake in Chandigarh, temple ponds of Guwahati, lakes of Bengaluru, Sanjay Gandhi national park in Mumbai, Yamuna River in Delhi, etc.
• Effect on Native Species
  • As they mature fast, grow larger, and produce more offspring, and are very aggressive, they can out-compete native turtles for food, nestling, and basking sites.
  • They eat plants and animals and can finish off a wide range of aquatic species, including fish and rare frogs.
  • They can also transfer diseases and parasites to native reptile species.
  • The species is considered as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive non-native species.

What can be done to Control the Invasion?

• There should be more rules to prevent the species from entering the Indian environment and negatively impacting it.
• Manual intervention is required to procure and rehabilitate these turtles from urban wetlands.
  • A campaign to declare or give up turtles should be held to take these turtles in custody.
• These turtles should be restrained, captivated and sent to local zoos.

Context

India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, after registering a decline in its score over two consecutive years for the first time in three decades. 

What is Human Development Index (HDI)?

• The HDI combines indicators of life expectancy, education or access to knowledge and income or standard of living, and captures the level and changes to the quality of life.
• The index initially launched as an alternative measure to the gross domestic product, is the making of two acclaimed economists from Pakistan and India, namely Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.
• It stresses the centrality of human deve­lop­ment in the growth process and was first rolled out by the United Nations Development Programme in 1990.

Dimensions of the Human Development Index – HDI

• The idea that progress should be conceived as a process of enlarging people’s choices and enhancing their capabilities is the central premise of the HDI.
• Since its launch, the HDI has been an important marker of attempts to broaden measures of progress.
• The HDI considers three main dimensions to evaluate the development of a country:
  • Long and healthy life
  • Education
  • Standard of living

Limitations of HDI

• An incomplete indicator
  • Human development is incomplete without human freedom and that while the need for qualities judgement is clear; there is no simple quantitative measure available yet to capture the many aspects of human freedom.
  • HDI also does not specifically reflect quality of life factors, such as empowerment movements or overall feelings of security or happiness.
• Limited idea of development
  • The HDI is not reflecting the human development idea accurately.
  • It is an index restricted to the socio-economic sphere of life; the political and civil spheres are in the most part kept separate.
  • Hence there is a sub-estimation of inequality among countries, which means that this dimension is not being taken into consideration appropriately.
• A vague concept
  • Concerning data quality and the exact construction of the index HDI is conceptually weak and empirically unsound.
  • This strong critic comes from the idea that both components of HDI are problematic. The GNP in developing countries suffers from incomplete coverage, measurement errors and biases.
  • The definition and measurement of literacy are different among countries and also, this data has not been available since 1970 in a significant number of countries.
• Data quality issues
  • The HDI, as a combination of only four relatively simple indicators, doesn’t only raise a questions what other indicators should be included, but also how to ensure quality and comparable input data.
  • It is logical that the UNDP try to collect their data from international organizations concentrating in collecting data in specific fields.
  • Quality and trustworthiness of those data is disputable, especially when we get the information from UN non-democratic members, as for example Cuba or China.
• A tool for mere comparison
  • The concept of HDI was set up mainly for relative comparison of countries in one particular time.
  • HDI is much better when distinguishing between countries with low and middle human development, instead of countries at the top of the ranking.
  • Therefore, the original notion was not to set up an absolute ranking, but let’s quite free hands in comparison of the results.
• Development has to be greener
  • The human development approach has not adequately incorporated environmental conditions which may threaten long-term achievements on human development. The most pervasive failure was on environmental sustainability.
  • However, for the first time in 2020, the UNDP introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint.
  • This is Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI or PHDI. It measured the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.
• Wealth can never equate welfare
  • Higher national wealth does not indicate welfare. GNI may not necessarily increase economic welfare; it depends on how it is spent.
  • For example, if a country spends more on military spending – this is reflected in higher GNI, but welfare could actually be lower.

Significance of HDI

• It is one of the few multidimensional indices as it includes indicators such as literacy rate, enrollment ratio, life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, etc.
• It acts as a true yardstick to measure development in real sense.
• Unlike per capital income, which only indicates that a rise in per capital income implies economic development; HDI considers many other vital social indicators and helps in measuring a nation’s well-being.
• It helps as a differentiating factor to distinguish and classify different nations on the basis of their HDI ranks.