Latest news with #HumanDevelopmentIndex
Hi Dubai
6 days ago
- Business
- Hi Dubai
World Governments Summit Launches Report Urging Secure Foundations for Future-Ready Cities
The World Governments Summit Organization has unveiled a major new report highlighting the critical role of urban security in shaping sustainable, livable cities of the future. Developed in partnership with global consultancy Arthur D. Little, the report offers a roadmap for governments, civil society, and the private sector to build safer, more resilient urban environments. Titled Urban Security: Enabling Cities of the Future , the report arrives amid accelerating global urban transformation driven by rapid infrastructure, technological, and socio-economic developments. It argues that while innovation can enhance a city's efficiency and appeal, long-term success hinges on prioritising safety and public security. Drawing from in-depth analysis and case studies in Delhi, Singapore, and Buenos Aires, the study explores how crime forecasting, urban design, and coordinated governance contribute to secure, future-ready cities. Among its key findings is a measurable link between human development indicators—such as GDP per capita and the UN's Human Development Index—and lower crime rates. 'Security is not just a necessity—it's a catalyst for economic growth, investment, and social cohesion,' said Reem Baggash, Deputy Director of Strategy at the World Governments Summit. 'Modernising our approach to urban security is essential to realising the full potential of tomorrow's cities.' The report calls for a holistic approach that aligns national security standards with city-level reforms, enhanced policing, and new technologies like AI and blockchain. Alexander Buirski, Transformation Practice Leader at ADL, stressed the need for tailored, cross-sector solutions: 'Success demands collaboration, adaptability, and a clear understanding of how urbanisation and development intersect with safety.' In a fast-changing world, the message is clear: secure cities are not optional—they are the foundation for progress. News Source: Emirates News Agency
National Observer
6 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Danielle Smith's revealing 'living standards' slip
Sigmund Freud believed that a dumb blurt sometimes reveals more than the most incisive analysis. Danielle Smith proved him right last weekend when she defended the grievances of the oil and gas lobby by insisting, with her signature self-assurance, that 'we've got the lowest living standards in the world.' Now, we should be a bit charitable here. We all say dumb stuff. And whatever other cockamamie ideas the premier may be guilty of trafficking, surely she does not really think that Canadians, or Albertans are worse off than the South Sudanese. She probably 'misspoke,' as the politicians say. But what a Freudian slip. How revealing of a mindset. And how in tune with all the bluster about how 'Canada is broken' that has churned anger and resentment across the country. How aligned with the hostility and bitterness fuelling far-right movements around the globe. You never want to invalidate anyone's feelings but since the premier has invited us into a wider, global perspective, perhaps we might gently offer an alternative view: Canada has problems, for sure, but almost everyone in Smith's audience is among the luckiest people on the planet. And, for that matter, among the luckiest people in the history of people. That's not to say there aren't people in the country who are still, unforgivably, without clean water or decent housing. There are grave injustices and destitution. But these are not the concerns of those looking to trigger our lizard brains into states of scarcity and precarity. Whether it's Donald Trump seizing exceptional powers by invoking an 'energy emergency' (among the many other emergencies he keeps declaring), Danielle Smith or Pierre Poilievre raging about how 'broken' we are, or the recent spate of federal and provincial bills to override environmental protections and hustle through First Nations consultation, the common theme is to leverage fear and crisis. And there is plenty of fear to go around. Inflation and affordability are top of mind, exacerbated by Donald Trump's temperamental tariffs and forecasters predicting a recession. Valid fears that make a context ripe for fearmongering and short-sighted decisions we will come to regret. Perhaps we might gently offer an alternative view: Canada has problems, for sure, but almost everyone in Smith's audience is among the luckiest people on the planet. And, for that matter, among the luckiest people in the history of people. Which brings us back to Danielle Smith and her blurt about the 'lowest living standards in the world.' Listen to the fossil fuel industry and its political spokespeople and you would never know that oil and gas production in Canada is at an all-time record. In fact, it was precisely some pushback about that broader perspective from CTV's Vassy Kapelos that got the premier in such a mental knot. Far from having the lowest living standards in the world, Canada has among the highest. The UN just updated its Human Development Index last month. Canada ranks 16th out of all the countries in the world when rated on the index of per capita income, life expectancy and education. If you're reviewing the list with an eye on climate, you'll find that the countries who have done the best job cutting carbon pollution are ahead of Canada on living standards (the UK, Denmark, Germany and Sweden, for example). Funnily enough, none of the countries that rank above Canada needed any bitumen to get there. And only three of the fifteen have any oil and gas industry to speak of. Canada is a couple spots ahead of the United States. And if you're wondering, the top spot goes to Iceland (I know, that surprised me too, but the Icelanders have been at or around the top for years). When the UN adjusts the index to account for inequality, Canada ranks even higher, coming in 14th, while the US slips out of the top 20 and lands at 29th. The Human Development Index ranks 193 countries in all. So, to land in the top 20 is to have landed in the top 10 per cent of all countries today — and the most fortunate sliver of human beings, ever, as far as living standards are concerned. We can afford some perspective. As it happens, several of the leaders of those remarkably fortunate countries are gathering in Alberta for the G7, starting this weekend (you might spare a thought for the poor organizers tasked with contingency planning to airlift the dignitaries in the event of wildfire evacuation). The political leaders have plenty to discuss. But they might also remember the words of the late Pope Francis, delivered to a previous gathering of the global elite: 'I ask you to ensure humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it.'
Deccan Herald
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Rethinking AI: The lessons for India
The 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers more than statistics and rankings. While the HDR is often reported in the media for India's position on the Human Development Index (HDI), this year's report demands a much deeper engagement. Titled 'A Matter of Choices: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI', the report invites India, and the world, to reflect on how we are going to deal with transformative technologies like AI which will probably shape the future of the forces nations to rethink and confront urgent ethical, social, and political questions of our times, especially around AI. It places AI at the centre of the development discourse and raises a pressing question: will AI empower humanity or deepen inequality? In India, where rapid digital growth coexists with vast socio-economic gaps, the answer will be decided by the choices we make now..A key aspect of the report highlights a troubling paradox. Despite unprecedented technological advances, global human development is stagnating. The rebound from the 2020-21 decline in HDI is weak, and gaps between high and low HDI countries are widening. AI is hailed as a transformative force – 'the new electricity' – and yet, the lived reality for millions remains unchanged or in fact, paradox is highly relevant for India. Though it is the fastest-growing major economy and home to an expanding digital infrastructure, it faces persistent inequalities in education, healthcare, gender equity, and digital access. Without intentional and inclusive policy design, AI may deepen these than treating AI as inherently good or bad, the HDR calls for a people-centric approach that gives primacy to human agency. The future of AI, it argues, must be guided by democratic values, ethical governance, and shared responsibility. If not, we risk replacing human agency with algorithmic India, this means building AI tools and institutions that serve the many, not just the few. India's growing digital platforms along with its startup ecosystem give it a strong foundation. But realising the full potential of AI will require conscious efforts to embed human rights, privacy, fairness, and inclusion into AI design, deployment, and report makes a strong case for 'AI-augmented human development' rather than AI-led automation. It urges nations to create 'complementary economies' where AI enhances human creativity and productivity rather than replacing it. This is critical for a labour-rich country like India, where the real challenge lies in generating decent-quality HDR also warns of rising geopolitical tensions and the growing weaponisation of AI. With China and the US competing to dominate AI development and markets, developing countries risk becoming dependent 'data colonies.' But AI is not merely an industrial or strategic arms race; it is a political and ethical choice. For India, the goal should not be dominance but dignity: building an AI model that respects its constitutional values, protects diversity, and serves all sections of has no choice but to tread carefully. As a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and a leader of the Global South, it is well positioned to champion multilateral governance of AI that is inclusive and accountable. But it must avoid falling into techno-nationalism or strategic alignments that compromise its sovereignty or developmental user to critical insight in the HDR is the emergence of an AI divide – a new form of inequality layered over existing development gaps. Countries at the AI frontier are moving at jet speed, while others are falling behind. India, though ambitious, lags in investments, infrastructure, and global influence in the report cites LinkedIn data showing that India has the world's highest self-reported AI skill penetration. But this alone is not enough. Are we producing AI creators or merely users? Are we building indigenous technologies or relying on foreign platforms? To move from aspiration to leadership, India must invest in research, computing capacity, open data frameworks, and talent HDR rightly identifies the vacuum in AI governance. It calls for new models of regulation that are transparent, flexible, and responsive to societal needs. As our earlier experience suggests, in the absence of strong public institutions, private tech companies set the rules. This is a global problem but also a local opportunity. India must lead by example. As the world's largest democracy, it can propose frameworks that are rooted in constitutional rights, participatory governance, and public accountability. India can advocate for global AI standards that reflect the priorities of the Global perhaps the most important contribution of the HDR is its emphasis on narrative. The way AI is discussed – as destiny, disruption or deliverance – shapes public policy. The report warns against surrendering to narratives that glorify automation and ignore the social consequences of unchecked innovation. In India, the media, civil society, and academia must foster informed debates on AI. They must question hype, expose harm, and amplify marginal voices. India's rich democratic tradition offers the perfect ground for promoting such discourse. But this requires vigilance and active engagement, not passive a way, the UNDP's 2025 HDR offers a sobering but powerful message: human development is not determined by machines but by choices. The age of AI is not just a test of our intelligence but of our wisdom. India with its unique demographic, technological, and democratic mix, has the opportunity to craft an alternative AI path – one that is inclusive, ethical, and globally relevant. In the end, the question is not whether AI will define our future. The question is: will we define AI to serve a future we believe in?.(The writer is a professor of journalism and Regional Director at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal)
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Fuel for a green Viksit Bharat
India's aspiration to be 'viksit' by the centenary year of its independence, while adhering to the net zero carbon emissions target for 2070, needs a strategy for sustained per capita energy use. The strategy also needs to focus on achieving a Human Development Index of 0.95, which is characteristic of advanced countries, and provide clean energy for this purpose. This corresponds to around 28,000 TWh of total energy annually. The available clean energy sources to address this need are renewable energy, large hydro power and nuclear. Among them, nuclear energy's contribution would need to be at least around 20,000 TWh annually since the other two together are unlikely to exceed 8,000 TWh. Today, India consumes around 9,800 TWh annually with around 96 per cent coming from fossil resources. Clean energy needs to increase 70 times and around 70 per cent of it needs to come from nuclear in 45 years. After Independence, Homi Bhabha had advocated a three-stage nuclear power programme aimed at long term energy security and autonomy for the country. We seem to be losing that focus. Surely, there are constraints and challenges, some of which are external. However, a sharper focus on our end goal, despite the strong foreign vendor-driven narratives that seem to be gaining currency of late, is something we cannot afford to lose sight of. Any nuclear programme has to necessarily begin with uranium — the only natural source of fissionable material. While our uranium resources were modest to begin with, the emphasis on exploration has led to an increase in stocks. The ore grades, however, are very low. These reserves, despite the higher cost they entail, are a key source of energy security, especially in a situation when uranium imports are disrupted. Access to foreign uranium markets has enabled the first-stage nuclear programme to grow well beyond 10 GWe, a threshold that was envisaged earlier. However, the second-stage programme of fast breeder reactors is yet to take off. We must, however, celebrate our domestic pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), the proven and competitive technology that meets global benchmarks. While the 100 GWe nuclear mission launched by the government would still leave us about twentyfold below the nuclear capacity required for a net zero 'Viksit Bharat', realising it within the specified timeframe requires accelerated deployment. This, in turn, depends essentially on proven technologies — domestic PHWRs being the primary workhorse, supplemented by proven large light water reactors (LWRs). We must also bring in multiple deployment agencies, beyond NPCIL and now NTPC. The PHWR technology must be seen as a common national good and made available to potential domestic agencies for accelerated deployment with a mentoring approach. Efforts to minimise the costs are necessary in the case of LWRs by following the Make in India approach. 100 GWe capacity would need around 20,000 tons of uranium annually. This could be around 15 per cent of global uranium production. Given the constraints of geopolitics as well as potential demand-supply mismatch in a growing nuclear energy scenario, this may well become a major energy security challenge of a dimension that is more serious compared to oil and gas today. The three-stage programme, which involves recycling nuclear fuel, enables 60-70 times more energy from the same quantity of mined fuel. A quick shift from mined uranium to recycled uranium and plutonium in fast reactors has thus become an energy security imperative. In view of the delay in deploying fast breeder reactors (FBRs), irradiating thorium, of which we have the largest reserves, in our PHWRs has become crucial. That we are now leveraging much greater quantities of uranium than envisaged earlier also enables large-scale introduction of thorium in our PHWRs. This would help us in preparing to address the energy security challenge by recycling thorium-based spent fuel in molten salt reactors (MSR) and advance the third stage despite delays in the second stage. While the plan to introduce thorium in fast reactors to lead us into the third stage should continue, this would enable a faster route to thorium MSRs. One could also link high-power GeV range proton accelerators with subcritical systems based on such configurations to facilitate capacity growth. SMRs, which are dominating the narrative today, would take at least two decades to mature before deployment at scale can begin. Not only is this inconsistent with the 2047 timeline, the uranium required will also be harder to access at that time. Instead, we would be better off devoting our R&D resources to developing thorium MSR-based SMRs as well as other technologies relevant to the second and third stage that would take us closer to our thorium goal. High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) and irradiation qualification of thorium fuel for high burn-up performance are prerequisites to introducing thorium in PHWRs. They also have several advantages with respect to economics, safety, waste management and proliferation resistance — the move would be attractive without any significant change in the reactor. HALEU is also fast becoming the choice for many advanced power reactor systems just as it has become so for research reactors. This is an area for international cooperation benefiting not just India but also the emerging economy countries. ANEEL fuel, which is under development, aims to achieve just that. One should expect the 100 GWe nuclear mission to be a forerunner to the much larger nuclear energy deployment necessary for net zero Viksit Bharat and not reach a virtual dead end. The writer, a nuclear scientist, was director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
India's economic growth is not inclusive. It is a concentrated accumulation of wealth
India is being paraded on global and national platforms as the world's fourth-largest economy. With a nominal GDP of nearly $3.9 trillion, the government claims it has scripted an economic miracle. The Prime Minister thunders from every stage about India's rise under his watch, and media outlets amplify this narrative. But behind this celebratory façade lies an undeniable reality: This is a growth story scripted by and for the elite, while the majority of Indians continue to suffer from hunger, unemployment, and deepening poverty. The official GDP numbers obscure more than they reveal. India's per capita income today stands at around $2,800 — or Rs 2.33 lakh per person annually. Compare this with Vietnam's $4,300 and China's $12,500. In rupee terms, that's Rs 3.57 lakh and Rs 10.38 lakh per person, respectively. Far from being a global economic leader, India lags behind countries that were once considered its peers or even behind it. Worse still, this Rs 2.33 lakh figure is itself an illusion. The top 1 per cent of Indians control over 40 per cent of the country's wealth. They are the corporate houses and big business houses owned by people like Adani and Ambani. If we exclude the wealth of this 1 per cent, the remaining GDP available to the rest of India's 1.4 billion people drops drastically. What remains is about Rs 130 lakh crore, leading to an actual per capita income of a little more than Rs 85,000 per year, or roughly Rs 7,000 per month. If we go further and remove the 62 per cent controlled by the top 5 per cent, the rest of the country is left with Rs 89 lakh crore, resulting in a per capita income of just Rs 67,000 a year, less than Rs 5,600 a month. This is what most Indians survive on. This is not an economy for the people — it is an economy for profit and propaganda. In a country where 80 crore people depend on free ration schemes for their daily survival, celebrating global GDP rankings seems to be a grotesque joke. How can the same government that boasts of economic might also take credit for distributing free rations? If GDP growth is real, who is lining up for free ration? Either the country is shining, or it is starving. It cannot be both. When these contradictions are pointed out, those asking the questions are labelled anti-national. Beyond income, India's social and human development indicators reveal a crisis. The country ranks 134th on the Human Development Index, way behind developing economies like Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It ranks 111th out of 125 on the Global Hunger Index. 35 per cent of Indian children are stunted. Over 230 million people still live in multidimensional poverty. Female labour participation is among the lowest in the world. India ranks 127 out of 146 in the Global Gender Gap Index. On almost every index that actually touches the lives of real people—education, nutrition, health, food, housing equality — India performs dismally. To make matters worse, the very basis on which these rankings are celebrated is questionable. The $3.9 trillion figure is calculated based on nominal GDP in current US dollar terms, heavily dependent on exchange rates. The Indian rupee is now hovering around Rs 83 to the dollar—an unprecedented low. What happens when the rupee weakens further? If the value of the dollar rises to Rs 90, the size of India's economy in dollar terms shrinks. The same Prime Minister who once called the rupee's value a matter of national honour is today silent as it slips year after year. India's economy hasn't become richer — its currency has become cheaper. But this deceit serves a purpose. It masks the government's failures. It offers the illusion of victory in the absence of substance. It is no coincidence that the GDP celebration comes at a time when the rural economy is in shambles, joblessness is rampant, and inflation continues to hit the poor hardest. The truth is that this is not inclusive growth. It is a concentrated accumulation. The majority of Indians remain on the margins of this story. Farmers die by suicide. Workers walk home barefoot during pandemics. Children drop out of school. Women vanish from the workforce. And yet, a select few watch their wealth double every few years. This is not a developmental model. It is a system of organised neglect and deliberate exclusion. If India truly wants to be a great nation, not just a large one, it must change course. The goal should not be to impress credit agencies or compete in global rankings, but to ensure that no child sleeps hungry, that every young person has a job, and that no Indian has to choose between medicine and food. True patriotism lies in demanding answers, not in blind applause. True growth lies not in GDP charts but in lives lived with dignity. Until then, this economy remains what it truly is: Hollow at the core, glittering only at the top, and dangerously disconnected from the millions it claims to represent. To conclude, PM Modi's much-trumpeted Viksit Bharat @ 2047 should be examined in light of what it means for the poorest sections of our society. Growth that widens inequality, deepens ecological destruction, and disregards the majority cannot be celebrated. India urgently needs to abandon this lopsided model and chart a new path — one that is equitable, ecologically sustainable, employment-generating, and rooted in justice, dignity, and democratic planning. The writer is general secretary, CPI
