The Delhi Human Development Report, 2013, has been structured around the theme ‘Improving Lives, Promoting Inclusion’. This theme encompasses all the fundamental concerns of human development, that is, improving people’s capabilities; augmenting the choices available to them; assuring the progress of all segments of society in terms of income, education and healthcare; ensuring widespread access to basic civic amenities; and fostering a safe and enabling environment for the various population groups in the city.

While examining all these issues through the lens of the disempowered and the marginalised, the Report keeps in focus the disparities that exist across various groups, and assesses the progress that has been made in bridging these. The report analyses issues regarding the status of human development in Delhi from two perspectives: first, the objective facts on the ground; and second, people’s perceptions regarding these. The latter is based on the findings of a Perceptions Survey, conducted with a large and representative sample of around 8000 households, which probes how people rate various developmental issues as well as what their own aspirations are as the citizens of Delhi.