According to the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an initiative of UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, India lifted about 415 million people out of multidimensional poverty between 2005-06 and 2019-21. While India lags far behind China in terms of poverty in the report, the projected pace of poverty reduction appears to be remarkably fast by any measure.
What does the UN report say?
The poverty level fell from 55.1% in 2005-06 to 27.7% in 2015-16 and to 16.4% in 2019-21 – a shortfall of 415 million people. Rural India also saw a sharp decline in multidimensional poverty, which declined from 36.6% in 2015-16 to 21.2% in 2019-21. Urban poverty fell from 9% to 5.5%. These estimates are based on the Demographic and Health Survey of India 2019-21. About 4.2% of India’s population lives in “severe poverty”.
see full image
The MPI measures poverty in three broad parameters – health, education and standard of living. Health covers nutrition and child mortality; Education includes years of schooling and school attendance; and standard of living includes access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and property.
The report said 71% of the data was collected from demographics and health surveys before the pandemic. Therefore, the effects of COVID on poverty in India cannot be fully assessed, it states.
Meanwhile, the World Bank had estimated that 35% of India’s urban population lived in slums in 2018. Clearly, a large proportion of this population is not seen in multidimensional poverty.
You might also like
What will trigger UltraTech stock?
Why freight trains are switching to aluminum wagons
Graphically shows how Indians are splashing out during the festive season
That’s how you lose tax benefits on health policies
India still has some of the poorest in the world
“Based on the 2020 population data for India, the world has the highest number of poor people (228.9 million), followed by Nigeria (estimated at 96.7 million in 2020),” the report said.
Like many other developing countries, Indians are also deprived of cooking fuel, sanitation and housing. The UN report called for an “integrated policy response[that]may include a housing, sanitation and cooking fuel package..”, in addition to early childcare centers and midday meals for school children may involve.
The report said that India’s poorest states have started taking big steps towards reducing poverty, but there is still a mountain to climb. Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have been among the 10 poorest states since 2015-16.
How does India compare with China?
In 2021, China announced that it had eradicated extreme poverty, and lifted 770 million people out of poverty since 1978. Only 0.1% of China’s population is below the International Poverty Line (below $1.9 per day) as defined by the World Bank. About 55 million Chinese are in multidimensional poverty, but according to a UNDP report, only 0.3% of its population falls into the “severely poor” category. In contrast, about 22% of India’s population is below the International Poverty Line. According to the MPI, 229 million are still in poverty, and 4.2% are in “severe poverty”. While India has much to do with China, the latest estimates on multidimensional poverty indicate rapid progress.
Elsewhere in Minto
In Rai, Vidya Mahambare and Praveen Kumar say: RBI needs revised strategy, Is India really near hunger problem, Ajit Ranade replied. Allison Schrager writes on harsh lessons monetary gap, long story looks Paytm’s profitability puzzle,
catch all business News, market news, today’s fresh news events and breaking news Updates on Live Mint. download mint news app To get daily market updates.