Inequality Pushing People To Take To The Streets: UNDP Report
The demonstrations across the world and increasing incidents of citizens taking to the streets stem from growing inequalities, warns the latest Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Programme.
The report comes against the backdrop of widespread protests by students against fee hikes in India, demonstrations against government policies, and a recent protest by the Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, in the national capital.
"Inequalities in human development hurts societies, weakens social cohesion and people's trust in the government, creating a risk of more people taking to the streets," said 2019 Human Development Report (HDR), titled “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21st Century". The report which also ranks nations in terms of Human Development Index put India at 129 out of 189 countries. Last time, India was ranked 130. As per the report, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed the steepest rise globally in human development, and leads the world in access to broadband internet, but continues to grapple with widespread "multidimensional poverty", specially India. However, India and the rest of South Asia are also vulnerable to a new set of inequalities emerging around technology, higher education and climate resilience. "The gap in basic standards is narrowing, with an unprecedented number of people escaping poverty, hunger and disease, the necessities to thrive have evolved. The next generation inequalities is opening up, particularly around technology, education and climate crisis," the report said. In India, 271 million people were lifted out of poverty from 2005-06 to 2015-16. India's Human Development Index value increased by 50 per cent between 1990-2018, which places it above average for countries in the medium human development group and above average in South Asia. Life expectancy at birth has increased by 11.6 years over the last two decades and mean years of schooling have increased by 3.5 years. An example of the "next generation" inequality is the fact that in countries with very high human development, subscription to fixed broadband is growing 15 times faster and the proportion of adults with tertiary education is growing more than six times faster compared to the countries with low human development. In India, while the share in world's installed bandwidth potential equals that that of Germany, Brazil and France, when it comes to tertiary education, only 24.5 per cent of the students in India and 44 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific region enrolled in higher education. "Despite India's significant progress, it accounts for 28 per cent of the 1.3 billion multidimensional poor," the report said. The report also highlights that more Indian men and women are showing biases in gender social norms, indicating to a backlash to women's empowerment. The report also highlights that a staggering 31 per cent of women in South Asia have experienced intimate partner violence.
"Inequalities in human development hurts societies, weakens social cohesion and people's trust in the government, creating a risk of more people taking to the streets," said 2019 Human Development Report (HDR), titled “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21st Century". The report which also ranks nations in terms of Human Development Index put India at 129 out of 189 countries. Last time, India was ranked 130. As per the report, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed the steepest rise globally in human development, and leads the world in access to broadband internet, but continues to grapple with widespread "multidimensional poverty", specially India. However, India and the rest of South Asia are also vulnerable to a new set of inequalities emerging around technology, higher education and climate resilience. "The gap in basic standards is narrowing, with an unprecedented number of people escaping poverty, hunger and disease, the necessities to thrive have evolved. The next generation inequalities is opening up, particularly around technology, education and climate crisis," the report said. In India, 271 million people were lifted out of poverty from 2005-06 to 2015-16. India's Human Development Index value increased by 50 per cent between 1990-2018, which places it above average for countries in the medium human development group and above average in South Asia. Life expectancy at birth has increased by 11.6 years over the last two decades and mean years of schooling have increased by 3.5 years. An example of the "next generation" inequality is the fact that in countries with very high human development, subscription to fixed broadband is growing 15 times faster and the proportion of adults with tertiary education is growing more than six times faster compared to the countries with low human development. In India, while the share in world's installed bandwidth potential equals that that of Germany, Brazil and France, when it comes to tertiary education, only 24.5 per cent of the students in India and 44 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific region enrolled in higher education. "Despite India's significant progress, it accounts for 28 per cent of the 1.3 billion multidimensional poor," the report said. The report also highlights that more Indian men and women are showing biases in gender social norms, indicating to a backlash to women's empowerment. The report also highlights that a staggering 31 per cent of women in South Asia have experienced intimate partner violence.
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