What is impeachment ? How judges of higher judiciary are impeached in India?

 Why is it in the news?

1. An in-house inquiry committee consisting of three judges with regard to burnt currency notes found in the storeroom in the official residential premises of the High Court Judge, justice Yashwant Varma was submitted before the Chief Justice of India. The Report was forwarded to the President and the Prime Minister of India by the then Chief Justice of India, Sanjeev Khanna. The report said that Justice Varma and his family members were in covert or active control of access into the storeroom. The report said that the currency notes found during the process of dousing of fire were highly suspicious items. They could not have been placed in the storeroom without the tacit or active consent of justice Varma or his family members. That the store room was under the physical control of Justice Varma and his family members and therefore, any suspicious item found in the store room will have to be accounted for by Justice Varma and his family members.  

2. The report also blamed police officials for slipshod handling of burnt currency notes in the premises of Justice Varma because neither FIR was lodged nor a seizure memo was prepared on the scene of crime. The higher police officials explained the inaction by pointing out the sensitivity of the issue and the absence of Justice Varma at his residence at the time of incident. 

3. An impeachment proceeding against Justice Varma is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the Monsoon session for his removal.

  

What is impeachment?

1. Impeachment is a constitutional mechanism for removing certain high ranking constitutional functionaries from office for defined grounds such as misbehaviour, incapacity or violation of the constitution. The process is designed to ensure accountability while protecting the independence of key constitutional bodies. It is a procedure which involves voting in a Parliament and judicial inquiry. 

2. In India, the President of India (Article 61) can be impeached for the violation of the constitution. The Vice President of India, under article 67 (b) can be removed by resolution passed by majority of total membership of the Rajya Sabha and agreed by simple majority in the Lok Sabha. 

3. The Supreme Court Judges under article 124 (4) and High Court judges under article 217 (1) (b), Chief Election Commissioner under article 324 (5), Comptroller and Auditor General of India under article 148 (1),   can be removed on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. 

4. Other constitutional functionaries like UPSC Chairman and members, State PSCs Chairmen and members, Chairman of  National Commissions of SCs, STs and Backward classes and Chairman and members of Finance Commission are not removed through impeachment process because Parliament is not involved in their removal. Instead, they can be removed on the grounds of misbehaviour like insolvency , unauthorised paid employment, misconduct ,incapacity like infirmity of mind and body. The President of India refers allegations against the concerned constitutional authority to the Supreme Court which conducts judicial inquiry. He may suspend the accused constitutional authority till the inquiry is completed. 

5.The accused constitutional authority is given an opportunity to defend himself. If charges are proved, the President may issue a removal order of the concerned authority. However, the President may accept or may not accept the findings of the Judicial inquiry. 

6. Constitutional authorities like the Prime Minister of India do not attract impeachment, process for his removal. He stays in office as long as he enjoys the majority in the Lok Sabha. Governor of a state and Attorney General of India hold their office till the pleasure of the President of India. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha/ Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha can be removed by simple majority just after giving 14 days’ advance notice. They do not undergo the process of impeachment for their removal. 

What is the procedure of impeachment of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts in India?

1. The impeachment process for both the Supreme Court and High Courts judges is the same

2. A judge of the Supreme Court or High Court can be removed only on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Proven misbehaviour is not defined in our constitution. It may include corruption, misconduct, partiality, favour, nepotism and faulty application of law. Similarly, incapacity means both physical and mental disability which hampers in the performance of his judicial duties. 

3. The process begins with a motion which can be introduced in either House of the Parliament. The motion must be signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or at least 50 members of the Rajya Sabha. The motion must specify the charges against the concerned judge and must be accompanied with supporting evidence. If the motion is presented in the Lok Sabha, the Speaker decides whether to admit or not. If it is presented in the Rajya Sabha, it is chairman (Vice President) decides with regard to the admissibility of the motion. 

4. Once admitted, the Speaker/Chairman constitutes a three member judicial inquiry committee under the judge inquiry Act, 1968, consisting of Chief Justice of India or his nominee, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, a Chief Justice of a High Court and a distinguished jurist. The committee conducts a detailed inquiry giving the accused judge an opportunity to respond. It collects evidence, examines witnesses and records findings. The committee submits its report to the Speaker/ the Chairman stating whether the charges are substantiated or not. 

5. If the committee finds the judge guilty of the charges, the impeachment motion is taken up for debate and voting in the House where it was introduced. The accused judge/ or his representative is also given the opportunity to participate in the debate and respond to the charges labelled against it. After the end of the debate motion is presented for voting in the House. It must be passed by special majority in both Houses of Parliament in the same session. A Special majority means a majority of the total membership of each House and at least two  thirds of the members present and voting in each House. The motion must be passed separately in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. For example, if a motion of impeachment for the removal of a judge of a High Court/ Supreme Court is brought in the Rajya Sabha, and if the total membership of the Rajya Sabha at that point of time is 242 then the motion must be passed by at least 122 members. If at the time of voting there are 180 members in the Rajya Sabha, the  motion must be passed by at least 120 members present and voting. If both the conditions are fulfilled, this is called special majority. 

6. If both Houses of the Parliament pass the motion with special majority in the same session against the accused judge, it is presented before the President of India. He has no option but to issue an order for the removal of the judge. 

Defects of impeachment proceedings of judges of Higher judiciary of India

1. Excessive High thresholds - The impeachment proceedings against judges of Supreme Court and High Courts require the motion to be signed by 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs, followed by a special majority. 

2. Political influence and partitionship - A political party having majority in both Houses of Parliament can use the impeachment process as a tool for political vendetta against judges who deliver judgements against the government interests. Conversely, judges aligned with the ruling party may favour them and put the opposition parties at the dock. This may compromise fairness in the delivery of justice. 

3. Lengthy and Cumbersome process - The impeachment proceedings in India go through different stages of investigation, parliamentary debate and voting. This causes undue delay in the delivery of justice and thus, it loses effectiveness.

4. Ambiguity in defining misbehaviour - The impeachment proceedings can be initiated on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity but proved misbehaviour has not been defined. It leads to ambiguity among MPs and so, it becomes difficult to arrive at consensus in initiating impeachment against the erring constitutional authority. 

5. Limited transparency - Chairman of the Rajya Sabha/ Speaker of the Lok Sabha may or may not accept the impeachment motion without giving detailed reason as to why the motion is not being accepted. Similarly, the proceedings of the inquiry committee are not as open as trials of the senate in the US. 

6. Lack of the role of civil society - The impeachment process is driven by Parliament and the judiciary. There is no formal role for civil society. Therefore, lack of public participation limits responsiveness towards judicial misconduct. 

7. Lack of alternative mechanism - Impeachment is the only constitutional mechanism to remove the Supreme Court/ High Court judge with no provision for lesser penalties. The absence of a graduated disciplinary framework limits the system's availability to address varying degrees of misconduct. 

How judges of higher judiciary are impeached in other countries? 

1. In the USA, the Supreme Court judges can be removed on the charge of treason, bribery, other high crimes and misdemeanours. Any member of the House of Representative can initiate the motion of impeachment based upon allegation of misconduct. A House Judicial Committee investigates the charge and gathers evidence. If the charge is substantiated , the motion is debated in the House. The impeachment proceeding is passed by a simple majority of 51% of members present and voting. Thereafter, the Senate conducts a trial, which is presided by the Chief Justice of the US. If the Chief Justice is the accused, the Vice President presides over the trial. After the conclusion of the trial the motion is put for vote in the Senate. If the motion is passed with 2/3rd majority, the accused judge stands removed from his office. The Senate may also vote to disqualify the accused judge from holding future public office. 

2. In Pakistan, allegations are referred to the Supreme Judicial council under article 209, which consists of the Chief Justice of Pakistan as Chairman, two senior most Supreme Court Judges and two senior most High Court Chief Justices. Reference of allegation can be made by the President, Prime Minister or Supreme Judicial Council itself based on complaints. The SJC conducts a judicial inquiry. If the SJC finds the judge guilty of misconduct and incapacity it submits a report to the President. The President must remove the judge if the SJC recommends removal. The SJC may recommend suspension of the accused judge during inquiry subject to the Presidential approval. SJC decisions are generally final but Supreme Court review is possible for procedural irregularities. 

3. In the UK, judges of the Supreme Court can be removed on the grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity. Misbehaviour includes corruption, criminal conviction, ethical breaches and persistent failure to perform duties. Incapacity includes both physical and mental inability to perform judicial functions. Complaints are handled by the judicial conduct investigations office (JCIO) an independent body or by the Lord Chancellor or Lord Chief Justice. After the investigation if the charge is substantiated, there is the requirement of agreement of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice. Thereafter, the king removed the accused judge through a notification. Thus, no parliamentary vote is required like in India. The accused judge may be suspended during investigation. 

4. In Australia, a judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by simple majority separately passed by both Houses of Parliament, the grounds for impeachment is proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The impeachment proceedings can be initiated by Attorney General or Government or Parliamentary motion. After the motion is accepted, a commission of judges and experts are constituted to investigate the allegation labelled against the accused judge. If the charge is substantiated, the motion is put for vote in both Houses of Parliament, if passed by simple majority in both Houses separately, the Governor General removes the accused judge. No federal judge has been removed through the impeachment process since 1901.  

Ways Forward 

1. The cumbersome process of impeachment proceedings against judges can be supplemented by creating a national judicial and constitutional oversight commission consisting of retired Supreme Court judges, former Chief Election Commissioner and independent experts. 

2. The grounds for impeachment like proved misbehaviour must be codified so that ambiguity is removed. In addition, a code of conduct for judges should be enforced. 

3. There is a need to suspend judges during inquiries. 

4. There is a need to enhance transparency in the conduct of the inquiry committee  and curtailment of discretionary power of the speaker of Lok Sabha/ Chairman of Rajya Sabha. 

5. There is a need to reduce the threshold of special majority to be substituted by simple majority as it obtains in the UK/ Australia. 

6. There is a need to prevent resignation tendered by an accused judge while the motion of impeachment is in the progress. 

Conclusion 

1. Impeachment proceedings against judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts  in India suffer from high thresholds, political bias, ambiguous grounds, opacity and absence of public input. There is a need to  establish an independent judicial body for handling complaints, introducing graduated sanctions, codifying grounds, enhancing transparency and reducing 2/3rd majority to simple majority vote in both Houses of Parliament. 

Iran-Israel War : Causes and Impact on India and World Economy

 

Why is it in the news?

1. Israel launched a blistering attack on Iran’s nuclear and military structure on 13th June 2025, thereby, killing top Generals and Scientists. The attack was meant to stop Iran from making atomic weapons. About 200 aircrafts were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Israel attacked Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz. Israel also claimed that it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface to air missile launchers in western Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that operation Rising Lion would continue for as many days as it takes to remove Iran’s nuclear weapons programme because it was described as an existential threat to the Jews state.  

2. Iran immediately retaliated by sending a swarm of drones to Israel. It is reported that Iranian Missiles have heavily damaged Israeli port city of Haifa and its capital Tel Aviv. 

3. India is deeply concerned about the situation in West Asia after Israel claimed that it carried out attacks on multiple targets in Iran. India urged both sides to avoid any escalation steps. India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to stand all possible support. India urged both the countries to use dialogue and diplomacy towards de-escalation of situation and resolving underlying issues.The embassy of India in Iran had urged Indian citizens to remain vigilant and avoid all unnecessary movements.  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) condemned the military strikes carried out by Israel. However, India distanced itself and did not participate in the discussion. 

4. Left parties on the other hand urged the Union Government to condemn Israel otherwise silence will be seen as complicity. The party said that attack could spark a broader regional conflict and create more instability in west Asia.  

5. Iran finds itself politically isolated in the region. Many Arab states are as concerned as Israel about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Moreover, the Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution declaring Iran in violation of its legal obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and dangerously close to acquiring nuclear weapons. Several Arab and Muslim majority nations including Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey did not oppose the resolution instead they quickly condemned Israeli strikes. 

Causes of Conflict between Iran and Israel

1. Ideological and religious rivalry : Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 turned it into a Shia theocracy. It strongly opposes Israel as an illegitimate zionist entity and so it wants to wipe out Israel. Israel, on the other hand, thinks the orthodox Islamist ideology of Iran as an existential threat to it and so there is deep rooted animosity between two countries. Apart from ideology, the divergent religious affiliations further add to their enmity. Both countries want a favourable balance of power in West Asia.  Thus, Iran opposes Abraham accords of UAE, Behren, Saudi Arabia with Israel. So, since the founding of Islamic Republic in 1979, both countries are at lower heads. Over the decades Iran has popped up regional proxies to ensure a severe but cost effective military option vis-a-vis Israel. Iran created, co-opted and emboldened several non-state players committed to Israel's defeat.  Through this proxy war, Iran has successfully expanded its influence beyond its territorial limits and its sphere of influence can be felt not only in the immediate vicinity of the Persian Gulf but also in the Mediterranean sea, the Red sea and the Northern Arabian Sea. 

2. Nuclear threat of Iran :  Israel views Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat. It apprehends that a nuclear armed Iran would target it. It claimed that Iran had enough enriched uranium for making multiple nuclear bombs. In addition, Iran non-complied with the nuclear non-proliferation agreements put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. This prompted Israel to launch preemptive strikes on 13th June under the code name of operation Rising Lion. Israel struck  nuclear sites like Natanz, Khondab and Isfahan. The strike was meant to prevent Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold. 

3. Weakening of the Axis of Resistance headed by Iran :  Iran has been supporting anti-Israel groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, popular mobilisation forces in Iraq and Assad Regime in Syria. In spite of the military offensive, Israel has not been able to defeat Hamas in the Gaza strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon. PMFin Iraq. The destruction of several infrastructure including Sanaa airport has not forced the Houthis to seek a truce with Israel. So, now Israel now seeks to minimise the long term potential of these militant groups by targeting the source of their political legitimacy and military support. According to Israel, Iran supported Axis of Resistance cannot be defeated without directly confronting Iran. The direct confrontation between Iran and Israel in April and October 2024 did not significantly alter the situation. Moreover, the increasing power of Iran further compelled Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia to bury their hatchet against Israel and so these Sunni Arab countries moved closer to Israel. Looking to the above favourable condition, Israel this time decided to target Iran itself. 

4. Domestic political pressure : Experts are of the view that the decision of the Prime Minister Netanyahu to strike at Iran was driven by domestic politics. Since, the Prime Minister is facing corruption charges. He wants to prolong the war with Iran. The main aim is to overthrow the orthodox Islamic regime of Ayatollah Khamenei. This would bring popularity of the PM among Israeli people. 

5.Immediate provocation - the accelerated production of ballistic missiles by Iran was construed as a threat to Israel. The seizure of Israeli linked ships in 2024 by Iran and support for Houthi attacks on Israeli ships further heightened tensions. The failure of US-Iran nuclear talks, bombing of Iranian consulate in Damascus in April 2024 by Israel and retaliatory missile attacks at Israel in October 2024 for assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders further escalated tensions between both countries. 

Impact on India

1. Rising oil prices : Since India imports 80% of its oil for its domestic needs and since 40% oil imports come from the Middle East, a prolonged war between Israel and Iran would lead to a spike in oil prices. It is expected that the oil prices had jumped to $75 per barrel. It should be noted that oil prices above $80 per barrel would increase the import bill by $10-15 billion, thereby widening the trade deficit. In addition, the higher fuel cost can drive inflation leading to rise in consumer prices and industrial costs. 

2. Weakening of Rupees : A higher import bill would weaken the Indian Rupee, despite strong forex reserves. A depreciating rupee would raise import cost for non-oil goods, thereby impacting MSME sectors. 

3. Trade disruption, a prolonged Iran-Israel war will have an impact upon India’s trade with Israel since India exports petroleum products heavily. Disruption in the supply chain would further hit India’s export of petroleum products to Israel. Moreover, the protected war would threaten India’s energy security. 

4. Migrant workers and evacuation : About 1600 Indian students are studying in Iran. 183 pilgrims are stranded in Iraq. They require urgent evacuation. Moreover, prolonged Iran-Israel war will have an impact upon remittances sent to India. It should be noted that more than 8 million Indian workers are employed in Gulf Countries and around $125 billion remittances are sent by them to India. Any disruption will have an impact upon the economy of India and especially Kerala. 

Impact on World Economy

1. Oil market volatility : The prolonged war would push the oil prices to $100-150 per barrel, leading to stagflation. It is feared that attack upon oil wells of Iran by Israel may cause severe affect upon the overall oil production. It should be noted that Iran exports $2.5 million barrels per day. 

2. Inflation and Growth : Rising oil prices may lead to inflationary trend in the Global economy and may lead to slow global GDP growth. 

3. Financial markets : On account of the Iran Israel war, global stock markets plumated sharply. Investors took their money from the banking institutions to purchase gold and dollars. 

4. Disruption in Supply chain : Prolonged Israel-Iran war would further impact industries worldwide dependent upon petroleum products. 

5. Fear of arms race in West Asia : The withdrawal of Iran from the non-proliferation treaty would spark arms race thereby, destabilising markets and diverting resources. 

Ways Out 

1. Diplomatic De-escalation : Since India has very good relations with Iran and Israel, it should take the lead in pushing for a ceasefire. Both the UN and BRICS countries can take initiatives for the normalisation of relationship between two countries. 

2. Energy Diversification : India should accelerate renewable energy and boost domestic oil production in order to reduce its dependence on oil imports.  Nations should have strategic petroleum reserves to stabilise prices. 

3. Economic stabilisation : An effort should be made to provide subsidies on fuel to give relief to consumers. Central banks across countries must coordinate to mitigate inflation spikes. Reserve Bank of India, should manage rupee volatility through forex interventions. Similar steps should be taken by central banks of other countries. 

4. Humanitarian and evacuation plans : India must prioritise evacuating stranded citizens through airlifts and sea routes by coordinating with Gulf Countries. The UN should provide a safe route for refugees living in adjoining countries of Israel and Iran. 

5. Strengthening regional alliances : India should deepen its ties further with Saudi Arabia and UAE to secure alternative oil supplies. India and EU should also mediate to prevent US-China proxy escalation.

Conclusion 

1. The Iran-Israel war threatens global stability and economic recovery. Rising oil prices, trade disruptions and stranded citizens pose immediate challenges. The prolonged conflict may pose global stagflation, market turmoil and nuclear arms race. India should play a proactive role to keep the balancing act between Israel and Iran. Israel is a trusted friend of India. It is the third largest military hardware supplier to India after Russia and France, India is dependent upon Iran for huge oil imports and Chabahar ports which would connect it with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. A prolonged war would further escalate oil prices in India and worldwide leading to the inflationary trend in the economy and slowing down of the economy worldwide. 

The Economic Growth is not enough in India

Why is it in the news?

1. The international monetary fund recently projected that India will ease past Japan to become the world's fourth largest economy by the end of 2025. Thus, the size of the Indian Economy would be $4.19 trillion. The other biggest economies are the USA ($28 trillion), China ($18 trillion) and Germany ($4.5 trillion). India is poised to achieve a GDP of $5 trillion in 2027 and $10 trillion by 2035. This is a remarkable achievement for a country that began its journey as an independent nation in 1947 with the meagre $33 billion economy. 

2. Although absolute GDP figures are useful for understanding the size of an economy, yet they do not point out as to how wealth is distributed, how developed a country is and how much its citizens are enjoying the lives of prosperity ? Thus, it masks cost of living, income inequality and disparities in population size. A country may have a large economy but that does not necessarily translate into prosperity or improved living standards of its people. 

What is Gross Domestic Product?

1. GDP is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders over a specific period of time, say one year. It measures the economic activity of a nation, including consumption, investment, government spending and net exports. Thus, GDP measures production within a country’s borders regardless of who produces it. It includes the total value of production without accounting for depreciation. Again it excludes income earned by residents abroad or income paid to foreigners. 

2. On the other hand national income/net national income focuses on production by country’s residents, whether inside or outside the country including income from abroad. It subtract depreciation from GDP to reflect the net value of production. It includes net foreign income i.e. income earned abroad minus income paid to foreigners. For example, if a country has a GDP of one trillion dollars and depreciation of $150 billion  and net foreign income $100 billion. Thus, NNP/National Income would be one trillion dollars - $150 billion + $100 billion = $950 billion. 

3. GDP can be calculated using three approaches : - Production, Income and Expenditure. The production approach or value added approach to measure GDP calculates the total value of goods and services. Thus GDP = (Gross value added) +Taxes on products - Subsidies on products.

Where : Gross value added (GVA) = Value of output - Intermediate consumption for each sector which is the cost of raw materials and services used in the production process. Thus, this approach ensures that only the value added at each production stage is counted, avoiding double counting of intermediate goods. In this process,  the economy is divided into various sectors and then gross value added is calculated at each stage of production and then taxes like sales tax and GST are added. The sum total of products - subsidies on the products given by the Government is the Gross GDP. 

4. The income approach to measure GDP calculates the total income earned by individuals and businesses in an economy from the production of goods and services. Its sums up all income generated in the production process, such as wages, profits and rents. According to this approach GDP = Compensation of employees + Gross operating surplus + Gross mixed income + taxes on production and imports - subsidies.

 Where : (A) Compensation of employees means total wages, salaries and benefits paid to workers including social contribution like pension, health insurance. 

(B) Gross operating surplus means profit earned by businesses, including corporate profits, depreciation (capital consumption) and net interests. 

(C) Gross mixed income means income earned by self employed individuals and unincorporated businesses or informal sector, combining wages and profits. 

(D) Taxes on production and imports means indirect taxes like sales tax or GST imposed on production and imports. 

(E) Subsidies means Government payment to producers to lower the cost of production. 

Thus, this formula captures the total income earned by all factors of production like labour, capital and entrepreneurship within the country. 

5. The expenditure approach to measure GDP calculates the total value of all goods and final services produced within a country by summing the expenditures made by different sectors of the economy. The formula is GDP = C + I + G + (X-M) where 

(A) C (consumption) means total spendings by households on final goods and services such as food, clothing and healthcare. 

(B) I (investment) means expenditure by businesses on capital goods like machinery, buildings, inventories and residential investments by households. 

(C) G (Government spending) means expenditures by the government on goods and services such as infrastructure, defence and public services excluding transfer payments like pensions or interests. 

(D) X (exports) the value of goods and services produced domestically and sold abroad.

(E) M (imports) means the value of goods and services purchased from abroad. Thus, imports are subtracted from exports to avoid counting of foreign production, giving net exports of a country. 

Thus, the expenditure approach focuses on the demand side of the economy. It ensures that only final goods and services are counted, avoiding double counting of intermediate goods. 

Limitations of GDP

1. GDP measures total economic output but does not reflect how income or wealth is distributed. For example, a country with high GDP may still have significant poverty or inequality among its population. Thus, It is estimated that India’s absolute GDP has risen from $468.4 billion in 2000 to $1487 billion in 2025, surpassing Japan’s GDP. However, India’s GDP per capita is 12 times lower than that of Japan’s in 2025. [Source: The Hindu]. 

Similarly, the above chart also shows that while the total GDP of Poland is around 4 times smaller than that of India but its GDP per capita is 9 times greater  than that of India. 

2. GDP does not capture non economic factors like health, education, life expectancy or happiness. Thus, a country may have high GDP but poor living conditions or low social welfare. Thus, in India, the gross enrollment rate in college education after completion of secondary school was 32.7% in 2022 compared to 65% in Japan and 75% in Poland.

 

Similarly, GDP of a country does not reflect adequate healthcare infrastructure. For example, in India, the infant mortality rate in 2022–23 was 28 deaths per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality ratio was 97 deaths per 100,000 live births, which was significantly higher compared to Japan (IMR: 1.7, MMR: 5), South Korea (IMR: 2.6, MMR: 11), and China (IMR: 5.0, MMR: 16). On the health front, the life expectancy of a person was 72 years for an average Indian in 2023, compared to 84 years in Japan, 78.5 years for Poland, 78.2 years in China, 83.6 years in South Korea, 77.5 years in the US, and 80.7 years in the UK. 

3. GDP also does not take into account the employment opportunities to the people. For example, the share of wage and salaried workers from regular employment in India was just 23.9% in 2022 against 91% in Japan and 80.1% in Poland . 

4. The GDP also does not take into account the sectoral distribution of workforce and changes therein for example nearly 45% of the workforce in India is employed in agriculture compared to Japan where less than 10% people are employed in agriculture. In 2023, the share of employment in the service sector in India was 31.5% while for Japan it was 73.3% and for Poland it was 62.8%.

 In the Industrial sector, India witnessed a rise of 25.03% employment in 2023 from 16.3% in 2000  compared to Japan which slipped from 31.1% (2000) to 23.71%, indicating a shrinking of its economy. 

 Thus, a country may have high GDP but may suffer from poor living conditions. 

5. GDP also does not take into account non market activities like household work or voluntary services. 

6. It also does not take into account environmental degradation or resource depletion. A country may boost up its GDP growth by proliferation of timber factories or opening of big industries. These activities may cause deforestation or pollution in the long run. This will ultimately cause irreparable damage to the economy. 

7. GDP does not take into account the depreciation of the capital assets. It only talks about gross investment. It also does not take into account the quality of life. 

8. GDP also takes into account the regional variation within the country while some areas may be economically very strong while others are lagging far behind. For example, the per capita income of Goa is ten times greater than that of Bihar. 

9. GDP focuses solely on the quantity of goods and services produced without taking into account quality, innovation or efficiency.

10. It emphasises current production and consumption without considering long term consequences such as debt accumulation or unsustainable growth patterns. For example, India had debt burden of ₹55 lakh crore in 2014 which increased to ₹181 lakh crore in 2024

Alternative methods of calculating the economy performance and social progress 

While GDP is a useful indicator of economic activity, it falls short in measuring overall social progress, environmental sustainability and equitable distribution of wealth.  That’s why, alternative methods to measure the economy of a country have been invented. These are genuine progress indicators, human development index, gross national income, net national income, inclusive wealth index and multidimensional poverty index. 

A) Gross Progress Indicator (GPI) = GDP + Value of Non market activities - cost of negative externalities like environmental degradation. However, it is very difficult to objectively assess environmental and social costs. 

B) Gross National Income - It is derived by adding GDP with net income from abroad. On the other hand net national income = gross national income - depreciation. However, net national income also suffers from limitations because it does not take into account non-market activities and environmental degradation. 

C) Inclusive wealth index = value of produced capital (infrastructure) + human capital (education and skill) + natural capital (resources and ecosystems). The above index also suffers from the exact valuation of intangible assets like human and natural capital. 

D) Human Development Index is derived by taking into three dimensions like life expectancy (health), education (mean and expected years of schooling) and standard of living (Gross national income per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity) HDI is derived by 3life expectancy index * education index * income index . The HDI is derived in the scale of 0-1 in the ascending order. The developed countries have HDI more than 8.5. HDI of India is 0.685 in 2023 as per the UNDP calculation, putting it in the middle income category and developing status. While HDI of Japan and Poland crossed 0.9 mark, putting it to very high human development. 

However, HDI does not take into account inequality, environmental degradation or happiness of the people. 

Conclusion 

1. To improve the human development index of India (HDI = 0.685) to make it at par with China (0.788), Japan (0.925) and South Korea (0.929) in 1923,  it is imperative to make significant improvement in three core dimensions of health, education and standard of living. India must strive for universal health insurance for all Indians by strengthening the 100% coverage to its population, increasing healthcare spending from the present 2% of GDP to 6% aligning with China (6%), Japan (10%), South Korea (8%). These measures would enhance the life expectancy in India by 3-5 years by 2030. 

2. India must strive for expanding the mid-day meal scheme to combat malnutrition among children. Focus should be upon clean water and sanitation to reduce water borne diseases. These diseases lead to 20% infant mortality. 

3. There must be priorities to improve upon the health facilities in underdeveloped states like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh.

4. Mean years of schooling is 6.9 years and expected years of schooling is 13 years in India compared to MYS in China 8.2 and EYS 14.3. In Japan MYS is 12.8 years and EYS is 15.2 years. In order to bridge the gap, India must raise education spending from 4% of GDP to 6%. It must ensure universalisation in secondary education, especially for girls and rural students. There is a need to increase the building of more schools in remote areas. India must improve education quality by incentivising teachers training. An effort should be made for gender and regional equity. 

5. India must raise standard of living by increasing the gross national income per capita from the present $9046 in 2023 to at least $15000 by 2030 to catch up with China ($20013), Japan ($41010) and South Korea ($45560). In order to bridge the gap, India must strive for rapid industrialisation and export led growth in electronics and value added goods. The contribution of the manufacturing sector (at present 16%of GDP) must be increased to 28% of GDP by 2030. The manufacturing and construction sectors have huge capacity to absorb unemployed or underemployed youths in agriculture. 

6. India must strive to bridge the gap between the urban and rural economic development. It must invest in rural infrastructure like roads, electricity, irrigation and farming. Schemes like MGNREGA should be further expanded with higher wages and skilling of workers. More efforts should be made to promote financial inclusion, these efforts may lead to doubling of rural incomes, thereby enhancing gross national income per capita to $15000 by 2030. 

7. India must strive for reducing income inequality by progressive taxation and increasing minimum wages and providing social security to workers. Implementing a wealth tax of 2% on billionaires would be helpful in raising the standard of living of below 20% of the population by providing them with durable assets like affordable housing and gainful employment. 

8. To sum up, India can enhance its HDI to at par with China by 2030 through universal healthcare, better nutrition and sanitation and clean water, enhancing the enrolment in primary and secondary education, gender equity and boosting industrial growth, job creation or employment opportunities and reduction in inequality. More emphasis should be on research and development, artificial intelligence, robotics, space, defence production, quantum technology and crypto and bio engineering to reap the maximum benefits so that gross national income per capita is further enhanced. This will increase the standard of living of the people, thereby, increasing the human development index of India at par with China by 2030.