Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) is developed by

The correct answer is A) Morris D Morris. He developed the Physical Quality of Life Index in 1979 while working with the Overseas Development Council in the United States. PQLI is a simple composite of three indicators: life expectancy at age one, infant mortality, and literacy. Each is scaled from 0 to 100 and the three are averaged with equal weight. Its appeal was that it measured outcomes people actually experience, without relying on income.

Why the others are wrong:

• B) UNDP: The UNDP publishes the Human Development Index (HDI), first released in the 1990 Human Development Report. HDI combines life expectancy, education and per capita income, so it is a different index.
• C) Mahbub ul Haq: The spelling in the option is Mehbub-ul-Haq. He was the chief architect of the HDI, not PQLI. Both indices are often mixed up because both move beyond GDP.
• D) None of the above: Wrong, since A is correct.

The core concept is multidimensional development measurement. For Mains, link this to the shift from GDP-based growth to well-being indices like HDI and the Multidimensional Poverty Index, and to the debate on whether India's welfare outcomes match its growth figures. PQLI is now largely of historical interest, having been overtaken by HDI in policy use.

Trap: Aspirants see Mahbub ul Haq's name and assume he created every development index. Attach each index to its own origin: PQLI to Morris, HDI to Haq and the UNDP.