NITI Aayog reported that 135 million Indians have escaped multidimensional poverty over the past five years, with the proportion of impoverished in the country falling from 24.8% to 14.9% between 2015-16 and 2019-21, due to improvements in nutrition, education, sanitation, and cooking fuel subsidies.
The Aayog's National Multidimensional Poverty Index revealed that Uttar Pradesh had the largest decrease in the number of poor, with 34,3 million leaving poverty, followed by Bihar (22,5 million), Madhya Pradesh (13,5 million), Rajasthan (10,8 million), and West Bengal (9 million).
Last week, the UNDP released its global MPI report, which stated that 415 million people escaped multidimensional poverty in India over the course of 15 years, from 2005-06 to 2019-21, with the incidence of poverty decreasing from 55.1% in 2005-06 to 16.7% in 2019-21.
Based on the most recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the Aayog's national MPI indicates India's progress in reducing multidimensional poverty between the NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21) surveys. In November 2021, the Aayog released its first baseline index, which was derived from the NFHS-4.
The rural areas experienced the most rapid decline in poverty, from 32.5% to 19.2%, while the urban areas experienced a decline from 8.65% to 5.2%.
The national MPI measures simultaneous deprivations across the three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living, as represented by twelve indicators aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
These include infant and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of education, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts.
Between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) value nearly halved from 0.117 to 0.066, and the intensity of poverty decreased from 47% to 44%, putting India on track to achieve SDG Target 1.2 (of reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half) well ahead of the 2030 deadline, according to the Aayog.
According to Aayog, flagship programmes such as the Poshan Abhiyan and Anaemia Mukt Bharat have reduced health disparities.
It was stated that initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) have enhanced sanitation throughout the nation.
It added that the provision of subsidised cooking fuel through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has positively transformed lives, with a 14.6% improvement in cooking fuel deprivation.
The Aayog also stated that initiatives such as Saubhagya, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), and Samagra Shiksha have significantly reduced multidimensional poverty in India.
In addition, consistent implementation of a variety of interconnected programmes and initiatives has resulted in a significant reduction of deprivation across multiple indicators.