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India wants better metric for Human Capital Index
New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) Soon after India rejected the findings of the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI), Indian Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said a better metric is needed for the index to measure the status of human capital in the digital age.
“HCI uses metric of industrial era to measure the status of human capital for digital age and its production system. He (Garg) said that a better metric is needed,” a Finance Ministry statement on Saturday quoted Garg, who led the Indian delegation at the IMF summit at Bali.
Speaking at the International Monetary Fund’s Development Committee Lunch Session on Friday, Garg asserted that there is a need to recognise that the digital technological changes taking place are more fundamental than even the invention of the steam engine, which had laid the foundation of the industrial revolution.
“There is a digital revolution which is transforming the world… (and) Human Capital needs to continuously evolve and develop,” he said at the session that focused on World Development Report on the changing nature of work, as per the ministry’s statement.
The World Bank’s inaugural HCI has placed India at 115 out of 157 countries in terms of the quality of human capital based on five parameters – child survival, school enrollment, quality of learning, healthy growth and adult survival.
India’s HCI score is 0.44, which means a child born in the country today will be only 44 per cent as productive “when she grows up as she could be if she enjoyed complete education and full health”. This puts India even lower than most of its neighbours in South Asia (HCI 0.46).
On Friday, India rejected the findings of the index that claims to predict the productivity of the next generation of workers, saying it has major methodological weaknesses and substantial data gaps and hence the country has decided to ignore the HCI.
The HCI, which ranks Singapore, South Korea and Japan in the top three places and African countries occupying the bottom spots, is based on survivability, health and education parameters and does not take into account progress in industry or digital infrastructure.
The index is a result of compelling evidence of economic benefits derived from investments in health and education. The bank believes it may be more highly correlated than other kinds of industrial and infrastructure investment that many heads of countries may favour.
While the bank has given due importance to human capital based on under-5 mortality rates, expected years of school, learning-adjusted years of school, adult survival rates and stunting rates, the report seems to have miscalculated the HCI score for India and thus its rank.
In one of the tables in the World Bank report titled ‘Benchmarks’, which gives the breakup of the five components of the HCI based on income group, the averages for two compenents do not tally and are lower than the lowest value given to any particular income group.
The ‘Harmonised Test Scores’, which is basically learning-adjusted years of school or actual learning based on international standards, gives an average score of 355 for India but the ‘Low Income’ category has a score of 363, ‘Lower Middle Income’ has 391, ‘Upper Middle Income’ has 428 and ‘High Income’ category has 506.
Similarly, the component of ‘Fraction of Children Under 5 Not Stunted’ has an average of 0.621 for India as a whole, but on income basis the range starts from 0.658 for ‘Low Income’ and gets better with higher income category till 0.935 for ‘High Income’.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.
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