Global Human Capital Index – WEF

TOPIC: GS PAPER II SOCIAL JUSTICE

Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

The “World Economic Forum’s – Global Human Capital Index”, ranked India at a 103rd among 130 countries.

KEY FACTS

• The Global Human Capital Index 2017 ranks countries on how well they are developing their human capital.
• The rankings are based on four thematic dimensions — capacity, deployment, development, and know-how.
• The index is led by Scandinavian nations Norway, Finland and Switzerland, followed by large economies such as the US and Germany.
• In South Asia, the race is led by Sri Lanka at rank 70 and Nepal at 98, while India has a slightly better standing than Bangladesh & Pakistan.
• With the exception of Sri Lanka, the other South Asian countries are yet to reach the 60% threshold in HDI.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA

• This is a scathing commentary on how India is handling its demographic dividend.India stands at the bottom among the G20 nations, is the lowest among BRICS nations.
• Dragged down by its poor labour participation and a big gender gap, India seems to be struggling against huge challenges.
• It has been noted that although India’s current educational attainment rate has improved over past generations, its youth literacy rate stands at a paltry 89%.

POSITIVE TRENDS IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

• Despite the low ratings, the report reveals that India is showing signs of slowly moving in the right direction.
• The primary way to realise the full human potential is by increasing inclusivity and expanding access to education and employment opportunities.
• On that note, the country scores well on the ‘know-how’ parameter that measures the use of specialised skills at work – such as economic complexity, availability of skilled employees.
• The other markers are that India ranks well on are its improving education system, skill diversity of graduates and high-skilled employment share.

WORLD WIDE TREND AT A GLANCE

• The world average was only 62% on human capital development.
• Only 25 nations were found to have tapped at least 70% of their human capital, while for 14 countries was below 50%.
• South Asia’s overall score was behind the Middle East and North Africa but ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• China was ranked an impressive 34th and its rapid expansion of educational attainment across its younger generations is poised to be an asset in preparing the future workforce.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX

How nations develop their human capital can be a more important determinant of their long-term success than virtually any other factor. By “human capital” we mean the knowledge and skills people possess that enable them to create value in the global economic system. Human capital is not defined solely through formal education and skilling. It can be enhanced over time, growing through use—and depreciating through lack of use—across people’s lifetimes.

The Global Human Capital Index featured in this Report thus treats human capital as a dynamic rather than fixed concept.

The Global Human Capital Index 2017 ranks 130 countries on how well they are developing their human capital on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) across four thematic dimensions—capacity, deployment, development and know-how—and five distinct age groups or generations—0–14 years; 15–24 years; 25–54 years; 55–64 years; and 65 years and over—to capture the full human capital potential profile of a country. It can be used as a tool to assess progress within countries and points to opportunities for cross-country learning and exchange.

The Capacity subindex quantifies the existing stock of education across generations; the Deployment subindex covers skills application and accumulation of skills through work; the Development subindex reflects current efforts to educate, skill and upskill the student body and the working age population; and the Know-how subindex captures the breadth and depth of specialized skills use at work.

QUESTION ARISING FROM THE NEWS:

Q1) WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RECENTLY RELEASED GLOBAL HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX? HIGHLIGHT

Source: New Indian Express, HINDUSTAN TIMES, 21 Nov