A recently released report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) suggests that India has managed to lift 271 million people out of poverty in the last decade while Jharkhand is among the poorest regions in the world improving the fastest.
In the 101 countries studied, around 1.3 billion people were found to be ‘multidimensionally poor’. Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a metric that goes beyond focusing on the lack of finances and further considers factors such as lack of clean water or electricity, poor health or malnutrition, poor quality of work, limited education and more. The study conducted between 2005/06 to 2015/16 aimed to illustrate the level of poverty reduction and the progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely ending poverty “in all its forms, everywhere”. The poverty report primarily focused on 10 countries – India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.
The report suggests Jharkhand reduced its MPI from 74.9 per cent to 46.5 per cent between 2005-06 and 2015-16. The above graph shows how its index, second only to Bihar’s in 2005-06, has shown the steepest decline among the poorest states.
While this is definitely great news, a lot of work needs to be done. Jharkhand, however, remains one of the poorest states in the country. Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh together account for more than half of all multidimensionally poor in India. Thus, while we need to appreciate this touchstone moment and commend the efforts of the government for it, we definitely have a long way to go.
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