Uttar Pradesh sees the most reduction — 3.45 million people freed from multidimensional poverty
Over 135 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21, claimed the central government think tank Niti Aayog’s latest report. Uttar Pradesh has seen the most reduction in poverty, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan, it found.
In UP, 3.45 million people were freed from multidimensional poverty, according to National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023 released July 17, 2023.
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In India, 14.96 per cent of people were multidimensionally poor in 2019-2021, down from 24.85 per cent in 2015-16 — a significant decline of 9.89 percentage points.
Poverty in urban areas declined to 5.27 per cent from 8.65 per cent during this period, while poverty in rural areas declined at the fastest rate, to 19.28 per cent from 32.59 per cent.
These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking gas, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets and bank accounts, all of which have seen significant improvements.
The report was prepared on the basis of the baseline report of India’s national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) launched in November 2021.
The second national MPI used the latest household microdata of the all-India National Family Health Survey (NFHS) by the International Institute for Population Sciences in coordination with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The report is based on data from both the fourth and fifth rounds of NFHS surveys: NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-2021).
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India’s national MPI captures multiple and simultaneous deprivations faced by households across the three macro-dimensions of health, education and living standards. It has 12 parameters and is aligned with the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The MPI value halved to 0.066 from 0.117 and poverty intensity come down to 44 per cent from 47 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-21. India is on track to meet SDG target 1.2 (the goal of reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half) much ahead of the 2030 deadline, the report further claimed.
The government’s dedicated focus on improving access to sanitation, nutrition, cooking gas, financial inclusion, drinking water and electricity has led to significant progress in these areas, the report said, adding there has been significant improvement in all 12 MPI parameters.
Flagship programmes such as Poshan Abhiyaan and Anaemia Mukt Bharat have contributed to the reduction of health disparities, while initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission have improved sanitation across the country, the think tank stated in a press release.
The impact of these sanitation efforts has resulted in a rapid and significant improvement of 21.8 percentage points, according to Niti Aayog.
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LPG shortage has improved by 14.6 percentage points due to subsidised cooking gas through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the report further said. Initiatives like Saubhagya, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Samagra Shiksha have also played a major role in reducing multidimensional poverty, it added.
Other improvements, like access to electricity, bank accounts and drinking water facilities, showed the unwavering commitment of the government to improve the lives of citizens and create a bright future for all, Niti Aayog further said.
Consistent implementation of a variety of highly interlinked programmes and initiatives has resulted in significant reduction of gaps in multiple indicators, it added.
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