India 12th richest nation in 2005??

It is heartening to see India's GDP surge to newer heights. IBNLive reports: "India has emerged as the 12th wealthiest nation in the world with its GDP touching $785.47 billion (Rs 35,34,615 crore) in 2005, calculated by the World Bank." Now this report can kindle a sanguine hope in the heart of a billion plus Indians, but it is not prudent to be taken-in by the GDP figures alone. GDP only reflects national income and tells nothing of how that income is distributed or how that income is spent. Though India is ranked 12th in terms of its GDP but it ranks very poorly on parameters such as GDP per capita, infant-mortality rate, literacy rate etc.

Another form of statistical tool used for measuring a nation's overall growth is the HDI -- Human Development Index. "It is a summary composite index that measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: longevity, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Longevity is measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; and standard of living by GDP per capita (PPP US$)." Check for yourself the HDI data and see how well India fares. The UN Millennium Development Goals website also provides very useful and insightful data.

I am neither being cynical of India's economic progress in recent years nor am I pessismistic about our reaching the goals envisioned by our founding fathers, but all I'm trying to emphasise is that jubilation at GDP figures is pre-mature. India has a long way to go before it can be in the top league w.r.t. all the socio-economic parameters.

Some of the key challenges before us are:
1: Extreme poverty
2: Illiteracy
3: Gender & social inequality
4: Infant & maternal mortality
5: HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and other diseases
6: Environmental sustainability
7: Poor infrastructure

The task at hand may seem onerous but it is not impossible to achieve. What is needed is strong a political will and visionary leadership. Is it expecting too much in present day India?