In India, a large number of women and persons belonging to socially and economically backward groups drop out of school.  Which of the pillar of human development is denied here to the girls?

Equity

The correct answer is option 1: Equity

Equity means providing equal access to opportunities for all people, especially disadvantaged groups such as women and socially and economically backward sections of society. In the given situation, girls and backward groups are dropping out of school, which shows that they are not getting fair and equal educational opportunities. Therefore, the pillar of human development being denied here is Equity.

NCERT: Equity refers to making equal access to opportunities available to everybody. The opportunities available to people must be equal irrespective of their gender, race, income and in the Indian case, caste. Yet this is very often not the case and happens in almost every society. For example, in any country, it is interesting to see which group the most of the school dropouts belong to. This should then lead to an understanding of the reasons for such behaviour. In India, a large number of women and persons belonging to socially and economically backward groups drop out of school. This shows how the choices of these groups get limited by not having access to knowledge."