As many as 135 million people in India escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21, according to the latest National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released by the NITI Aayog on Monday.
Based on the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data, the central government’s think tank found that the share of multidimensional poor in the Indian population declined sharply to 14.96 per cent in 2019-21, from 24.85 per cent in 2015-16.
The latest NHFS survey was carried out for the period 2019-21.
During the period under review, rural areas witnessed a sharper decline in the incidence of multidimensional poverty — to 19.28 per cent from 32.59 per cent; in urban areas, it declined to 5.27 per cent from 8.65 per cent.
The NITI Aayog’s report comes a week after the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) released the latest global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which showed 415 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty in India in 15 years from 2005-06 to 2019-21, with the incidence ratio falling from 55.1 per cent to 16.4 per cent. The report stated India was among 19 countries which halved their global MPI values in 15 years, showing that rapid progress was “attainable”.
Providing multidimensional poverty estimates for all the 36 states and Union Territories and 707 Administrative Districts, the NITI Aayog’s report stated that the fastest reduction in the proportion of multidimensional poor was observed in the Uttar Pradesh where 34.3 million people escaped multidimensional poverty, followed by Bihar (22.5 million), Madhya Pradesh (13.57 million), Rajasthan (10.8 million), and West Bengal (9.26 million).
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The National MPI captures overlapping deprivations in health, education, and living standards that are represented by 12 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-aligned indicators, such as nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, and housing. The index complements income poverty measurements because it measures and compares deprivations directly, as the earlier poverty estimates predominantly relied on income as the sole indicator.
The report mentions that between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the MPI value nearly halved from 0.117 to 0.066, and the intensity of poverty reduced from 47 per cent to 44 per cent, thereby setting India on the path of achieving the SDG Target 1.2 (of reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half), much ahead of the stipulated timeline of 2030.
Speaking at the release of the report, B V R Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, said improvements in the index demonstrate the government’s strategic focus on ensuring sustainable and equitable development and eradicating poverty by 2030, thereby adhering to its commitment towards the SDGs.
“The (government’s) dedicated focus on improving access to sanitation, nutrition, cooking fuel, financial inclusion, drinking water, and electricity has led to significant advancements in these areas. Flagship programmes, such as the Poshan Abhiyaan and Anaemia Mukt Bharat, have contributed to reduced deprivations in health, whereas initiatives, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), have improved sanitation across the country,” he said.
Subrahmanyam noted that the methodology that “we have used is identical to the UNDP report and the results that we have got are also in line with what the (UN) report has shown.”
The report also highlighted that the Centre’s welfare support during the peak of the Covid pandemic helped reduce the incidence of multidimensional poverty.