BS Number Wise: Here's why India's poverty estimates are problematic

Traditional estimates of poverty in the country rely on indicators that are outdated or inaccurate

Separate reports say India’s poverty reduced by 50 million or 140 million in the last five years, strengthening the government’s claims about its policies. The feel-good numbers don’t hide this though: the way India counts the poor is problematic.

The World Bank’s measurement shows that extreme poverty — people living on less than $2.15 daily in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) — declined by 57 million between 2015-16 and 2019-21. On the other hand, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) data indicates that multidimensional poverty—a holistic indicator that considers parameters like sanitation, health, and education—declined by 140 million (see chart