Targeting poverty

Govt must revamp social-safety programmes

Various estimates in recent years have indicated a significant decline in the level of poverty in India. The outcome would improve further if households falling into poverty were saved. In this regard, a new research paper published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research has drawn attention to redesigning the social-safety nets for citizens. Titled “Rethinking Social Safety Nets in a Changing Society”, the paper notes a substantial decline in poverty levels from 21.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 8.5 per cent in 2022-24, based on the Tendulkar method. Drawing on the nationwide panel data from