Introduction

HDI shows a country’s average progress in health, education, and income. IHDI takes the same three areas but reduces the score when these benefits are unevenly shared. For India, inequality lowers the effective level of human development.

Body

Distinction between HDI and IHDI with respect to India

IHDI turns HDI’s potential into the actual picture by adjusting for unequal access to health, education, and income. This links the comparison to why IHDI better reflects inclusive growth in real life.

Why IHDI is a better indicator of inclusive growth

• Wholistic coverage: Looks beyond averages to who benefits, revealing whether growth reaches poorer states, rural areas, women, and marginalized groups.
• Measures inequality loss: Quantifies the “loss” from inequality, helping set priorities where gaps are largest (health, schooling, or income).
• Suited to India’s diversity: Fits India’s reality, where strong states can pull up the average while weaker states lag; IHDI corrects for this.
• Better policy targeting: Guides fairer policy design by highlighting where services or jobs are not reaching people.
• Aligned with inclusive goals: Aligns with inclusive goals by tracking distribution, not just progress, and encouraging equity‑focused programs.

Conclusion
While HDI indicates India’s average human development, IHDI provides a realistic picture by factoring inequality. For inclusive growth, IHDI is superior as it emphasizes reducing disparities, ensuring that development benefits reach all sections of society, not just the privileged.

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