Last year, the United Nations released a report on poverty, which showed India’s poverty from 55% to 16%. How is India progressing?
THE REPORT OF THE UN ON POVERTY
The United Nations has reported that, over the past 15 years, India has experienced a significant reduction in poverty levels, with the rate of poverty falling from 55% to approximately 16%. This has resulted in an estimated 415 million people being lifted out of poverty, which is reported to be a historic event in the country.
The report further states that India has an estimated 228 million poor individuals, making it the most impoverished nation in the world. In comparison, rural areas have 205 million poor individuals, representing approximately 90% of the total poor population in India.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY
We tend to think that poverty is all about money, but it’s actually more than that. It’s also about the things a person has to deal with – like health issues, lack of education, and poor living standards. Multidimensional poverty is a way of looking at poverty and it’s not just about money. A person who’s poor can have a lot of disadvantages at once, like being sick or not getting enough to eat, not having enough water or power, not having a good job, or not getting enough schooling.
GLOBAL MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX
The MPI is an international indicator of acute multifaceted poverty that covers more than one hundred and fifty developing countries. Established in 2010, the MPI evaluates the prevalence of multifaceted poverty in more than one hundred countries and provides a breakdown of poverty by ethnicity, race, and caste for more than forty countries.
IMPORTANCE OF THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX
The Multidimensional Poverty Index is essential to capture the reality of poverty and to create a more comprehensive picture of who is poor and how they are poor.
MPI also examines sub-groups and specific deprivations to see the impact of poverty on different communities.
INDIA’S COMMENDABLE IMPROVEMENT
The MPI value of India has fallen from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.069 in 2019-21. Also, the incidence of poverty has decreased from 55.1% to 16.4%. Around 415 million people have exited poverty in the last 15 years. Rural areas, children, and Bihar saw the fastest reduction in MPI value.
HOW INDIA ACHIEVED THIS FEAT?
Since India’s independence, governments have made a lot of changes and put in place lots of different programs, like the rural employment generation scheme and the swaranjayanti gram swarozgar yojana. Even Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s slogan used to be ‘garibi hi hatao’. Nowadays, the government has put in place a bunch of big initiatives, like the Jal jeevan mission, the swachh bharat mission, and the PM ujjwala yojna.
THE DARK SIDE
While rural areas, children and the state of Bihar have a lower MPI value, they are still in the worst condition. Millions of Indians are deprived of basic amenities and amenities like electricity, fuel, sanitation, food, etc. In some parts of the country, corruption and negligence on the part of the common man are also hurting the poor people of India.
INDIA IS NO LONGER A POSTER BOY OF POVERTY
As our nation continues to make strides forward, it is important to bear in mind that there are still an estimated 228 million people living in poverty. Despite the progress made, India is still far from being completely free from poverty. The government is introducing initiatives to address this issue, and as responsible citizens, we must ensure that these rights are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals.
