Global report: India’s economic progress not 'desirably translating' into social progress

By Udaya S Mishra, Srinivas Goli*
Economic growth in India for last two decades has been impressive excluding a few of odd years. However, the translation of economic growth into quality of human welfare is still debatable.

A first step in this direction began when an alternative yardstick of measuring development moved from Gross Domestic Product (GDP -- a money metric measure of a country’s economy) to human development (comprising of means and ends together).
Despite this shift, measuring quality of human welfare has not entirely replaced the measurement of economic progress (mostly assessed in GDP terms). Contentions surrounding GDP has been its uncertain capacity to translate means to ends along with inclusiveness and sustainability feature. Even the Human Development Index remains inadequate to accommodate these features.
On recognition of this limitation there has been efforts at assessment of human welfare with alternative comprehensive measures that go beyond the means and accommodate ends as well. An effort in this direction has been the formulation of social progress index that comprehends three dimensions namely basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing and opportunity described by 89 indicators.
This exercise of measuring social progress is in place since 2011 and it offers an account of social progress for 168 countries of the world. The fresh edition of this index in 2022 places India at 110th rank and at fourth tier of performance.

Despite being at this tier of performance India’s progress has been commendable with a gain of 8.49 points realising a score of 60.19/100. On the same account compared to 5.4 points gain at the global level, India’s progress is faster.
India shows quantum jump in domains like basic needs, access to information communication, water sanitation, shelter and health wellness. However, the gains in many other components has been quite slow and in fact negative in domains like environmental quality, personal rights and inclusiveness.

A review of social progress levels within the country and its states generates six tiers ranging an index value between 43 and 66. According to this classification, the states at the lowest tier are Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand with an index value between 43 and 45 (see Figure 1).
In contrast, the first tier of states that have an index value of 62 to 66 include the two south Indian state of Kerala and Tamil Nadu along with a few smaller states and union territories. In fact, this index across districts of India suggest that districts with poor social progress are concentrated largely in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Reading the relationship between economic growth and social progress across the states of India is perplexing. For some of the states and union territories, we observe a positive relationship between the social progress index and per capita NSDP (Net State Domestic Product -- a monetary measure of state level economic development) implying that they are able to convert their economic progress into better social outcomes.
For example, Goa and Sikkim rank high in this regard, while Bihar ranks the lowest on both economic and social progress. However, some states and UTs, such as Delhi, have high per capita NSDP but relatively low social progress, and vice-versa. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are two large states having a greater translation value of their economic progress into social progress.

Another striking takeaway from the trends in social progress index and the per capita NSDP over time is that the number of outliers have increased from that in 2017 to 2022 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).

This indicates that gains in the economic growth have been unable to translate into social progress for some states, while in others relatively lower levels of economic development have coincided with a higher social progress index. This highlights the need for more effective social welfare policies to achieve the aspired levels of social progress among the several states.
The measure of social progress involves a wide range of indicators which are a subset of many of the SDG indicators that qualify this index as a holistic measure of human welfare compared with existing set of alternative indices that evaluates human welfare. Social progress therefore should be the yardstick of monitoring progress in human well-being in this day and time.
---
*Udaya S Mishra is Professor and Srinivas Goli is Associate Professor with the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai

Comments

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

Search This Blog