UPSC Mains 2023 GS1 Q16: model answer

India has been among the fastest-growing large economies for decades, yet it ranked 134 of 193 countries in the UNDP Human Development Report 2023-24.

Reasons for the gap

• Pattern of growth: growth led by services and capital-intensive industry created few good jobs; nearly 45% still work in farming.
• Low public spending: public health spending has stayed around 1.5–2% of GDP, so households pay heavily out of pocket.
• Education quality: enrolment rose but ASER surveys show many children in Class 5 cannot read a Class 2 text.
• Nutrition: NFHS-5 found 35.5% of children under five stunted and over half of women anaemic.
• Inequality: the gains went mostly to the top; wealth concentration has risen.
• Gender gaps: low female labour participation, early marriage and safety concerns.
• Regional gaps: Kerala and Tamil Nadu do far better than Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.
• Delivery problems: leakages, absenteeism and weak local institutions.
• Informality: about 90% of workers lack social security.

Lessons

• Kerala shows that early investment in schooling and health raises well-being even at modest income.
• Recent steps such as Ayushman Bharat, Jal Jeevan Mission, NEP 2020 and Poshan Abhiyaan are in the right direction.

As Amartya Sen argued, growth must widen people's capabilities. Investing in health, learning and women's work is the way to turn GDP into human development.