In a recent press release, The National Institute of Statistics and Information Technology (NITI Aayog) has reported that 24.82 crore people in India have escaped multidimensional poverty in the last nine years, with the government initiatives addressing all poverty dimensions between 2013-14 and 2022-23. The largest decline was reported in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, according to a report released by the NITI Aayog. The paper was released by Prof Ramesh Chand, a Member of NITI Aayog, in the presence of Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a globally recognised comprehensive measure of poverty that includes dimensions other than monetary ones. MPI's global methodology is based on the robust Alkire and Foster (AF) method, which identifies people as poor using a widely accepted metric designed to assess acute poverty, providing a complementary perspective to traditional monetary poverty measures.
What are the key findings?
According to the report, India's multidimensional poverty rate has dropped from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, a 17.89 percentage point decrease. Uttar Pradesh had the greatest decline in the number of poor, with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty over the last nine years, followed by Bihar (3.77 crore), Madhya Pradesh (2.30 crore), and Rajasthan (1.87 crore).
The results show that the rate of decline in the poverty headcount ratio using the exponential method was much faster between 2015-16 and 2019-21 (10.66% annual rate of decline) than from 2005-06 to 2015-16 (7.69% annual rate of decline).
As quoted in HT, “All 12 indicators of MPI have recorded significant improvement during the entire study period. To assess the poverty levels in the year 2013-14 against the current scenario (i.e. for the year 2022-23), projected estimates have been used due to data limitations for these specific periods,” a release issued by the NITI Aayog said.
Furthermore, the paper attributed this achievement to the government's initiatives to address all dimensions of poverty from 2013-14 to 2022-23.
According to the report, India is on track to meet its SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) of halving multidimensional poverty by 2030. It cited the government's "persistent dedication" and "resolute commitment" to improving the lives of the most vulnerable and deprived as instrumental in this achievement.
(Inputs from agencies)
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