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13.5 cr. Indians escape multidimensional poverty in 5 years — Niti Aayog report
DIMAPUR — India has seen a significant reduction in multidimensional poverty with 13.5 crore people moving out of multidimensional poverty between the financial years 2015–16 and 2019–21, according to the latest ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023’ released by NITI Aayog on Monday.
The report shows a decline of 9.89% in the number of India’s multidimensionally poor, from 24.85% in 2015–16 to 14.96% in 2019–21. Rural areas witnessed the fastest decline from 32.59% to 19.28% during the period, while urban areas saw a reduction from 8.65% to 5.27%.
The report goes beyond monetary deprivations to include access to education and basic infrastructure. It also takes into account the impact of welfare schemes such as ‘Poshan Abhiyan’, ‘Anaemia Mukt Bharat’, ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ (SBM), and ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’.
Uttar Pradesh registered the highest decline in the number of poor, with 3.43 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty, while in Nagaland, the number stood at 2.14 lakh. The report also highlighted that the fastest reduction in the proportion of multidimensional poor was observed in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
It indicates that between FY16 and FY21, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) value has nearly halved from 0.117 to 0.066, and the intensity of poverty has reduced from 47% to 44%. This puts India on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 1.2 of reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half, well ahead of the 2030 deadline.
The National MPI measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. These are represented by 12 SDG-aligned indicators, including nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts.
The report attributes the improvement in these sectors to the government’s dedicated focus on improving access to sanitation, nutrition, cooking fuel, financial inclusion, drinking water, and electricity. All 12 parameters of the MPI have shown marked improvements.
Flagship programmes like the Poshan Abhiyan and Anaemia Mukt Bharat are believed to have contributed to reduced deprivations in health and initiatives such as the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) have improved sanitation across the country.
The country witnessed a 21.8% improvement in sanitation deprivation. The provision of subsidised cooking fuel through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has positively transformed lives, with a 14.6% improvement in cooking fuel deprivations.
Nagaland sees dip in poverty
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Nagaland has seen a significant decrease from 25.16% to 15.43%. Mon district registered the highest decrease of 22.61%, followed by Dimapur at 10.09% and Phek at 9.97%. In Tuensang, the Headcount Ratio dropped from 38.33% to 29.21%, and in Kohima, it decreased from 11.03% to 6.50%.
The intensity of poverty, which measures the proportion of the weighted component indicators in which, on average, poor people are deprived, has also seen a decrease. For Nagaland, it dropped from 46.29% to 42.61%, giving it the 18th rank in the country.
In terms of years of schooling, the state witnessed a decrease in the percentage of the deprived population from 13.61% in NFHS-4 to 10.49% in NFHS-5. Sanitation also saw an improvement, with the percentage of the deprived population decreasing from 23.18% to 12.24%.
The percentage of the population deprived of drinking water decreased from 19.26% to 10.47% in the state. There was also a decent fall in the percentage of the population deprived of housing, dropping from 70.97% to 64.60%. The percentage of the population deprived of a bank account fell significantly from 28.67% to 7.04%, making Nagaland one of the best-performing states.
While Nagaland’s MPI drop signifies a substantial decrease in poverty, the decrease was even more noticeable in rural areas, where the MPI fell from 0.153 to 0.085, and in urban areas, it dropped from 0.047 to 0.026. This downward trend in MPI indicates improvements in living standards, health, and education in Nagaland over these years.
From a district perspective, the percentage of the population that is multidimensionally poor has significantly decreased. Notably, the districts of Mon, Dimapur, and Phek have experienced the most substantial decreases in their poverty headcount ratios. However, districts like Tuensang, Kiphire, and Longleng still have a relatively higher percentage of the population living in multidimensional poverty despite showing improvement.