Uneven development

India must reassess its affirmative action programmes

In 2019, the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report revealed that India had lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording one of the fastest reductions in index values, according to the annual study conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Multidimensional poverty measures poverty not just in terms of income but access to health care, education, and general living standards (drinking water, safety, electricity, housing, and so on) and offers a more realistic view of social standards. While the decadal data was a justifiable cause for