Which of the following indicators is NOT used to calculate Human Development Index (HDI) ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, Social Inequality. The UNDP's HDI is a composite of three dimensions only: a long and healthy life (life expectancy at birth), knowledge (education — mean and expected years of schooling) and a decent standard of living (GNI per capita, PPP). Inequality is deliberately NOT part of the plain HDI; it is captured by a separate index, the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI). Hence 'Social Inequality' is the indicator not used.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Life expectancy at birth is the HDI's health/longevity dimension — it IS used.  (b) Education (mean years + expected years of schooling) is the HDI's knowledge dimension — it IS used.  (c) The standard-of-living dimension is measured by per-capita income (GNI per capita at PPP; GDP per capita in the pre-2010 formula) — it IS used.

Concept: The HDI (introduced in the 1990 Human Development Report by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen) is a simple composite of three equally weighted dimensions — health, education and income. It intentionally excludes distributional/inequality measures; when inequality is factored in, the UNDP reports it separately as the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI), which 'discounts' each dimension by its inequality.

State PCS 2020 Q5 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q5 — Economy PYQ with Answer