Human Capital Index
The Human Capital Index (HCI) measures the human capital of the next generation, defined as the amount of human capital that a child born today can expect to achieve by age 18 in view of the risks of poor health and poor education currently prevailing in the country where that child lives. The follows the trajectory from birth to adulthood of a child born today and reflects how much capital each country loses through lack of education and health.
The HCI, prepared by the World Bank, was first published in October 2018 and ranked 157 countries. The Index is grounded on the following three pillars:
(1) Survival: Share of children surviving past the age of 5 in %
(2) School: Quantity of education (Expected years of schooling by age 18) and Quality of education (Harmonized test scores)
(3) Health: Adult survival rates (Share of 15-year-olds who survive until age 60 in %) and Healthy growth among children (Stunting rates of children under 5 in %)
The Human Capital Index (HCI) measures the human capital of the next generation, defined as the amount of human capital that a child born today can expect to achieve by age 18 in view of the risks of poor health and poor education currently prevailing in the country where that child lives. The follows the trajectory from birth to adulthood of a child born today and reflects how much capital each country loses through lack of education and health.
The HCI, prepared by the World Bank, was first published in October 2018 and ranked 157 countries. The Index is grounded on the following three pillars:
(1) Survival: Share of children surviving past the age of 5 in %
(2) School: Quantity of education (Expected years of schooling by age 18) and Quality of education (Harmonized test scores)
(3) Health: Adult survival rates (Share of 15-year-olds who survive until age 60 in %) and Healthy growth among children (Stunting rates of children under 5 in %)
SUBJECT Variables
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
- India obtained a score of 0.49 on a scale of 0 to 1 in 2020, a fraction higher than its score of 0.48 in 2018. This shows that a child born in India today will be only half as productive upon reaching 18 years of age as it would be if it enjoyed complete education and full health.
- The ruling BJP government has rejected the findings and the index, saying it does not reflect the key initiatives that are being taken for developing human capital in the country, such as Samagra Shiksha, Ayushman Bharat Programme, Swachh Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jandhan Yojana and the Aadhaar identification system-enabled direct cash transfer, that have improved governance and social protection. The critics however are not convinced with the government's stance and have labelled this Index as another global endorsement of the failing governance standards by the ruling BJP government.
- In comparison to its benchmarked G20 peers, India's score on the Human Capital Index 2020 is higher than only South Africa.
- This shows that the productivity of a child born in India today will be only 49% upon reaching 18 years of age in comparison to a child born in Australia whose productivity will be 77% owing to better access to education and healthcare.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
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