The Number Of Poor Dropped By 415 Million Over 15 Years In India, Says UNDP Report

Over 15 years in India, the number of poor in India has dropped by about 415 million, according to the United Nations Development Programme. Poverty among children fell faster in absolute terms, although India still has the highest number of poor children in the world.

The UNDP's Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates for the period between 2005-06 and 2019-21 are based on the Demographic and Health Survey released in 2019/2021.

The drop demonstrated the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030 is possible to achieve—and at scale, the UNDP said.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates suggested about 140 million exited poverty since 2015/2016; and roughly 275 million did so between 2005/2006 and 2015/2016.

The country's MPI value and incidence of poverty have more than halved, falling from 0.283 in 2005/2006 to 0.122 in 2015/2016 to 0.069 in 2019/2021, according to the survey. The incidence of poverty fell from 55.1% to 27.7% to 16.4% during the period.

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on India's poverty cannot be fully assessed because 71% of the data from the 2019/2021 Demographic and Health Survey for the country were collected before the pandemic, the report said. "But the results are striking, showing a significant reduction in all 10 MPI deprivations among poor people."

Still, major challenges remain. The 2019/2021 data show that about 16.4% of India's population lives in poverty. About 4.2% of the population lives in severe poverty (deprivation score is 50% or higher).

About 18.7% of people, roughly the same proportion as in 2015/2016, are vulnerable to poverty because their deprivation score ranges from 20 to 33%. Two-thirds of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived in nutrition—a worrying statistic, the report said.

Based on 2020 population data for India, it has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 228.9 million, followed by Nigeria at 96.7 million, according to the report.

Rural India: Stark Disparities 

Rural areas were the poorest and saw the fastest reduction in MPI value. The incidence of poverty fell from 36.6% in 2015/2016 to 21.2% in 2019/2021 in rural areas and from 9% to 5.5% in urban areas. Still, rural disparities are stark.

Rural areas account for nearly 90% of poor people: 205 million of the nearly 229 million poor people live in rural areas — making them a clear priority, according to the report. Only 23 countries covered have a higher proportion of poor people living in rural areas, it added.

India's Poor Remain Vulnerable 

Among the poor, deprivations in cooking fuel and housing are the most common, followed by nutrition and sanitation. Because deprivations in nutrition have a larger weight, they contribute by far the most to the MPI value — nearly as much as cooking fuel, housing and sanitation combined.

Despite progress, India's population remains vulnerable to the mounting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and to rising food and energy prices. Integrated policies tackling the ongoing nutritional and energy crises should be a priority, the report stated.

Children Are Still The Poorest Age Group 

Children, the poorest age group, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value. The incidence of poverty fell from 34.7% in 2015/2016 to 21.8% in 2019/2021 among children and from 24% to 13.9% among adults. Still, children are the poorest age group. More than one in five children are poor (21.8%) compared with around one in seven adults (13.9%). This translates to 97 million poor children.

India is the only country in South Asia in which poverty is significantly more prevalent among female-headed households than among male-headed households, according to the report's findings. About 19.7% of people living in female-headed households live in poverty, compared with 15.9% in male-headed households. One in seven households is a female-headed household, so around 39 million poor people live in a household headed by a woman.

Bihar, the poorest state in 2015/2016, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value in absolute terms. The incidence of poverty there fell from 77.4% in 2005/2006 to 52.4% in 2015/2016 to 34.7% in 2019/2021.

Across states and union territories, the fastest reduction in relative terms was in Goa, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. In relative terms, the poorest states have not caught up. Of the 10 poorest states in 2015/2016, only West Bengal was not among the 10 poorest in 2019/2021. The rest — Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan — remain among the 10 poorest.