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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.
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 suggested that India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16. In 2005-2006, the population in India living in multidimensional poverty stood at about 640 million people (55.1 per cent) and this reduced to 369 million people (27.9 per cent) living in poverty in 2015-16. There’s been a significant progress with regards to nutrition, child mortality, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water and more.
“Among selected countries with a significant reduction in MPI value, India demonstrates the clearest pro-poor pattern at the subnational level: the poorest regions reduced multidimensional poverty the fastest in absolute terms”, the report says. It also cites Jharkhand, which reduced multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent to 46.5 per cent in the ten years, as an example of the poorest region improving the fastest.
While this is definitely great news, a lot of work needs to be done. For instance, children across the countries are the biggest bearer of any economic consequence – with around 50 percent of the multi-dimensionally poor people being children below the age of 18. Additionally, the report also highlights the economic impact of inequalities within country, “Traditionally disadvantaged subgroups such as those living in rural India, Muslims, the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and young children are still the poorest 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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