India has to address root causes of poverty and inequality in order to empower people. Persistent poverty and inequality is not just a violation of basic human rights of the people but it also undermines economic growth of a nation by wasting talents and human resources. It leads to a skewed society where power and decision-making remains in the hands of a few, leading to greater conflicts and undermining social cohesion. And that is happening in India.
There are grave deficiencies in human development endeavors in India that are preventing children from reaching their full potential, as noted by the Human Capital Index of the World Bank. What should be done? Human capital is one of India’s greatest assets. Yet, the world’s fastest growing economy hasn’t touched millions of Indian citizens at the bottom of the economic pyramid. For this, India has to empower its people through a dedicated human development approach, as discussed at: https://kotharionindia.blogspot.com/2020/01/hdplus-strategy-process-of-alleviating.html. The suggested strategy, HDPlus, provides a process in achieving not only target of 5 trillion dollar economy but also making an empowered India in a generation.
Devendra Kothari MS (Harvard)
Population and Development Analyst