Page 3 - Poverty

Rural India drives drop in poverty count over 6 years: Economic Survey

Survey says nearly 135 mn have emerged from multidimensional poverty

Poverty declines to 8.5% in 2022-24 from 21.2% in 2011-12: NCAER paper

Poverty in India is estimated to have declined to 8.5 per cent in 2022-24 from 21.2 per cent in 2011-12, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, according to a research paper by the economic think tank NCAER. The paper titled 'Rethinking Social Safety Nets in a Changing Society', authored by Sonalde Desai of NCAER, used data from the newly completed Wave 3 of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) as well as data from Waves 1 and 2 of the IHDS. "According to the IHDS findings...poverty declined significantly between 2004-2005 and 2011-12 (from a headcount ratio of 38.6 to 21.2), and it continued to decline between 2011-12 and 2022-24 (from 21.2 to 8.5) despite the challenges posed by the pandemic," the paper said. The paper said economic growth and poverty decline create a dynamic climate that requires nimble social protection programmes. Traditional strategies designed to address chronic poverty in a large segment of society may be less effective as accidents of birth bec

The new tale of two Indias

There are two distinct political narratives in the country today--one giving voice to an "aspiring India" and the other to a "hopeless India". Both factions have their work cut out

Oxfam urges G7 to tap fraction of military spend to resolve hunger, debt

The G7 - comprising the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Britain - is set to meet in Italy this week where leaders will discuss issues such as climate change, migration, debt

Left govt in Kerala enters fourth year, CM says poverty to end by 2025

As the Left government in Kerala marks its fourth year in office, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday the government plans to develop a knowledge economy and eradicate extreme poverty in the state by November 1, 2025. Listing out achievements of the Kerala government, Vijayan said in a statement that the consecutive Left governments have focused on developing basic infrastructure in the state. "This government is striving to transform Kerala into a knowledge economy, emphasising achievements in infrastructure development and the welfare sector. As part of it, we are addressing deficiencies and eliminating gaps in various areas. Kerala already has the lowest poverty rate in India, and we are now taking steps towards eradicating extreme poverty. By November 1, 2025, Kerala aims to become a state free of extreme poverty," Vijayan said. Vijayan said that while the Union government fails to fill the numerous vacancies in various Central government establishments, including

250,000 Afghan children require education, food and homes, says NGO

A quarter of a million Afghan children need education, food and homes after being forcibly returned from Pakistan, a nongovernmental organisation said Thursday. Pakistan is cracking down on foreigners it alleges are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans. It insists the campaign is not directed against Afghans specifically, but they make up most of the foreigners in the country. More than 520,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since last October. Save the Children said families are entering Afghanistan with virtually nothing and that nearly half of all returnees are children. A survey of families by the NGO said nearly all of them lacked enough food for the next one to two months. Some returnees and host families had to borrow money for food or rely on friends and relatives for food. Almost two thirds of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school, according to Save the Children. The majority told the organisation they don't have the ...

Climate change, war, poverty biggest challenges: World Bank's Ajay Banga

There was no shortage of stressors to the global economy when Ajay Banga took charge at the World Bank almost a year ago: inflation eating at nations drowning in debt, a once-in-a-generation pandemic, climate disasters and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Factor in the Israel-Hamas war and rising tensions between powerful nations, and today's agenda is even fuller as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund hold their spring meetings in Washington this week. The world's intertwined challenges of poverty which clearly we have seen great setbacks over the past few years combined with fragility and conflict and violence, combined with climate change, is coming into a perfect storm, Banga said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We need to put all of our efforts into this. Banga highlighted new initiatives being announced at the meetings, including plans to provide 300 million people in Africa with electricity by 2030 and 1.5 billion people worldwide with health care .

About 10 mn people at risk of slipping into poverty in Pakistan: World Bank

The World Bank has painted a grim economic picture of Pakistan in its biannual report, cautioning that over 10 million more people are at risk of descending into poverty in the cash-strapped country. The Washington-based lender's apprehension comes from a sluggish economic growth rate of 1.8 per cent coupled with soaring inflation, a staggering 26 per cent in the current fiscal year. The World Bank's biannual Pakistan Development Outlook report indicated that the country is set to miss almost all major macroeconomic targets. The international lender said the country is anticipated to fall short of its primary budget target, remaining in deficit for three consecutive years, contrary to the International Monetary Fund's stipulations mandating a surplus. Sayed Murtaza Muzaffari, lead author of the report, said despite a board-based yet nascent economic recovery, poverty alleviation efforts remain insufficient. The economic growth is projected to stagnate at a paltry 1.8 per cent whil

Do we need a new line to assess poverty based on CES for 2022-23?

At the $3.2 per capita per day poverty line, which the World Bank uses for lower-middle-income countries such as India, poverty rate declined from 53.6% during 2011-12 to 20.8% during 2022-23

India eliminates extreme poverty: Economists citing consumption expenditure

India has eliminated extreme poverty, a commentary authored by economists Surjit Bhalla and Karan Bhasin in a leading American think-tank The Brookings Institution said, citing the just released consumption expenditure data for 2022-23. In the article, the two noted economists cite the data to say real per capita consumption has grown 2.9 per cent per annum since 2011-12, with rural growth at 3.1 per cent being significantly higher than urban growth of 2.6 per cent. Also, there has been an unprecedented decline in urban and rural inequality. The urban Gini declined from 36.7 to 31.9; the rural Gini declined from 28.7 to 27.0. The Gini coefficient, or the Gini index, measures the inequality of income distribution, whereas a higher value closer to one (or 100 per cent) represents greater inequality. "In the annals of inequality analysis, this decline is unheard of, and especially in the context of high per capita growth," the article states. High growth and a large decline in inequa

Economists divided over poverty decline claims by SBI, Niti Aayog

The SBI report estimated the new poverty line at Rs 1,622 for rural areas and Rs 1,929 for urban areas

Poverty rate in India between 4.5-5% in 2022-23; rural poverty at 7.2%: SBI

Meanwhile, urban poverty declined to 4.6 per cent from 13.7 per cent during the same period

Putting rural India first

Amarjeet Sinha draws on four decades of work experience as a bureaucrat, offering valuable lessons for effective programme delivery in poverty reduction and gender empowerment in his book

Argentina's poverty levels hit 57% of population, 20-year high in January

Poverty levels skyrocketed to 57.4% of Argentina's 46 million people in January, the highest rate in 20 years, according to a study by the Catholic University of Argentina. The findings quickly unleashed accusations between Argentina's former Vice President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner and the government of President Javier Milei, who came to power announcing a series of shock measures aimed at tackling the country's severe crisis. About 27 million people in Argentina are poor and 15% of those are mired in destitution, meaning they cannot adequately cover their food needs, according to the study released over the weekend. The UCA's social debt observatory is considered an independent and prestigious research space whose reports on poverty cover a larger geographical area than those conducted by Argentina's national statistics agency, INDEC. It also applies a methodology that addresses the problem with a more multidimensional approach and its findings are seldom questioned by ...

India contributes $1 mn to IBSA Fund to alleviate poverty, hunger

India has contributed USD 1 million to a fund established by India, Brazil and South Africa which undertake projects aimed at alleviating poverty and hunger. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj handed over the cheque of USD 1 million as a contribution towards the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation Fund (IBSA Fund) to the Director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Dima Al-Khatib here on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, Kamboj said the focus of India's G20 Presidency was the development of the people, by the people and for the people. Accordingly, India is committed to supporting the IBSA Fund as we believe that the Fund has made a positive impact on the lives of millions across the Global South and has strengthened the spirit of South-South cooperation, she said. The IBSA countries - India, Brazil and South Africa - each contribute one million dollars annually to the Fund in a spirit of ...

Kerala Budget: Support price of rubber hiked, agri sector gets Rs 1,698 cr

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday presented the state's budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the assembly by allocating Rs 1,698.30 crore for the struggling agriculture sector and increasing the minimum support price for rubber to Rs 180 from Rs 170. He also set aside Rs 50 crore for extreme poverty eradication and announced Rs 134.42 crore for the cooperative sector. Tabling the fourth budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, Balagopal said that though the state is facing an economic crunch and the Centre allegedly imposing financial restrictions, the LDF government would not show any compromise in the development front. Indicating that the state government would go ahead with its development plans, the finance minister said investments worth Rs three lakh crore would be brought to the southern state in the next three years. He said Rs 1,698 crore would be set aside for the traditional agricultural sector and investments worth Rs 5,000 crore would be ...

TMS Ep613: Flipkart valuation, ASER 2023 survey, RIL stock, poverty

Is Flipkart's $60-billion valuation realistic? Does India's school education need a relook? Where is RIL stock headed? What is multidimensional poverty? All answers here

250 million people lifted out of poverty by Modi govt: Union Min Sonowal

More than 25 crore Indians have been pulled out from poverty during the nine and half years of the BJP-led NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Speaking at a public gathering in Kendrapara district on Friday, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush said Modi's dynamic and inspiring leadership has ensured that the fruits of governance reach everyone in the society. By nipping rampant corrupt practices of previous Congress governments in the bud, he has ensured that the progressiveness and inclusiveness in governance are executed in letter and spirit, Sonwal said. The days of "corrupt, inefficient and clueless" governance under Congress, which was marked with people suffering from poverty, hunger and distress, are a thing of the past now, he said. "The Modi Ki Guarantee programme will ensure welfare of the people and reinforce our commitment towards building a Viksit Bharat, an Atmanirbhar .

Sense of urgency required to tackle climate crises, poverty: WB chief Banga

World Bank chief Ajay Banga on Thursday said a sense of urgency can be the only saviour for the world faced with a set of intertwined crises, including that of climate and poverty. "What we have is an existential climate crisis," the World Bank President said here during a session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. "We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about climate. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about healthcare. We cannot think about eradicating poverty without caring about food insecurity and fragility," he said. This is the reality and "we have a set of intertwined crises," Banga said and stressed that a "sense of urgency is our only saviour". According to him, 45 per cent of the World Bank financing will go towards climate efforts. In addition, the Bank has promised to connect 100 million people in Africa to renewable power by 2030, address a misalignment in funding to reduce methane emissions, help small nations absorb

Transparent system, people's participation led to poverty decline: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that a transparent system put in by his government, its honest efforts and emphasis on people's participation have led to nearly 25 crore people being lifted out of poverty in the last nine years. Nobody could have thought that poverty in India can decline but the poor has shown that it can be if they are given resources, he said in an address during a virtual interaction with beneficiaries of the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra'. Citing a Niti Aayog report, which highlighted the decline in poverty numbers, Modi said India has presented a model to other countries in helping the poor and has drawn global attention. It is a very encouraging report, he said. Modi said the Yatra has met success beyond his imagination and his government is likely to extend its deadline beyond January 26 due to an increasing demand from the masses that the vehicles meant to publicise welfare schemes and enlist more beneficiaries should visit their places ...