In October 2018, first Human Capital Index (HCI) Report for 157 countries prepared by the World Bank was published. It depicts which countries are best in mobilizing the economic and professional potential of its citizens. HCI index measures how much capital each country loses through lack of education and health. Recently, Human Capital Index, 2020 has been published and based on the Report; I am highlighting few points pertaining to India for academic interest. So this article is purely based on secondary sources. India has been ranked at 116th position with the scoring of 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018. It is pertinent to mention that in the HCI Report altogether 174 countries covering 98 per cent of the world's population have been included and in 2018 total number countries were 157. As per the Report, “COVID-19 is placing countries’ hard-won human capital gains at risk”. Globally, the HCI 2020 shows that, before the pandemic struck, a child could expect to attain an average of 56 percent of child’s potential productivity as a future worker. This global average masks considerable variation across regions and economies. “For instance, a child born in a low-income country could expect to be 37 percent as productive as if the child had full education and full health. For a child born in a high-income country, this figure is 70 percent”. Now I am presenting few facts about India.
Ø Probability of Survival to Age 5: 96 out of 100 children born in India survive to the age of 5 years.
Ø Expected Years of School: In India, a child who starts school at age 4 years can expect to complete 11.1 years of school by 18th birthday.
Ø Harmonized Test Scores: Students in India score 399 on a scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment.
Ø Learning-adjusted Years of School: Factoring in what children actually learn, expected years of school is only 7.1 years.
Ø Adult Survival Rate: Across India, 83 percent of 15-year olds will survive until age 60. This statistic is a proxy for the range of health risks that a child born today would experience as an adult under current conditions.
Ø Healthy Growth (Not Stunted Rate): 65 out of 100 children are not stunted. 35 out of 100 children are stunted, and so are at risk of cognitive and physical limitations that can last a lifetime.
One of the important points I wish to highlight here, “Human capital outcomes also vary for girls and boys. A disaggregation of the HCI by gender—now available for 153 of the 174 included countries—shows that human capital is slightly higher among girls than boys in most countries. Girls are not only catching up to but outperforming boys in expected years of schooling and learning outcomes in some regions. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa, girls can expect to complete more than half of an additional learning-adjusted year of school compared with boys. However, the reverse is true in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia”.
Before conclusion, I wish to mention region wise HCI points: a) East Asia & Pacific 0.59, b) Europe & Central Asia 0.69 c) Latin America & Caribbean 0.56 d) Middle East & North Africa 0.57 e) North America 0.75 f) South Asia 0.48 and g) Sub-Saharan Africa 0.40. As already mentioned India’s point as per the Report is 0.49.
Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad
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