Q.Explain the limitations of Physical Quality of Life Index.

PQLI is limited: only 3 indicators, ignores income, uses arbitrary equal weights, and omits many other development aspects.

The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) is based on three indicators — life expectancy at age one, infant mortality rate and literacy rate — each scored 0 to 100 and then averaged. Its main limitations are:

• Only three indicators — it considers just three social factors and so cannot fully capture the wide, multi-dimensional nature of development.
• Ignores income / economic factors — it leaves out per-capita income and other economic measures, which are important for the standard of living.
• Arbitrary equal weights — it gives equal importance to all three indicators without any strong justification, which may not reflect their real significance. …