Poverty declines, but battle not over

Source– The post is based on the article “Poverty declines, but battle not over” published in “The Business Standard” on 18th August 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to pverty

Relevance: Measurement of poverty

News– The latest poverty numbers from the multidimensional poverty index (MDPI) for India for  showed that about 415 million people have come out of poverty between 2005-06 and

2019-21.

What are some facts about MDPI?

The MDPI encompasses health, education, and standard of living. It utilizes the Alkire-Foster methodology for measurement.

The standard of living aspect considers factors such as housing, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, and assets, excluding income. Therefore, it doesn’t rely on data from the National Sample Survey.

In India, maternal health and access to banking have been incorporated as additional indicators in the MDPI.

MDPI provides a comprehensive understanding of the nature of poverty, especially in a diverse country like India. Relying solely on measures of income poverty can be problematic.

What are some significant revelation from the survey?

The outcomes of the MDPI reveal significant progress in poverty reduction, particularly in rural regions.

During the period between 2005-06 and 2015-16, around 280 million individuals emerged from poverty. 135 million people escaped poverty from 2015-16 to 2019-21.

There has been a more rapid reduction in poverty within economically disadvantaged states

There has also been a marked decrease in poverty in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The situation varies significantly across different parts of the country. Rajasthan demonstrated notable progress in terms of years of schooling and school attendance, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana did not fare as well.

Rajasthan faced challenges in terms of access to cooking fuel, along with several other states like MP, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Haryana.

Sanitation improvements played a significant role in poverty reduction in economically disadvantaged states like Bihar, UP, MP, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh.

States like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam showed improvements in electricity connections, with Meghalaya lagging behind in this aspect.

Access to proper housing exhibited minimal improvements across most states in the country, indicating that a review of the PM Awas Yojana might be necessary.

Nutrition remains a significant issue in India, with insufficient progress seen in most states.

Significant disparities also exist among districts in addressing poverty. For instance, in Bihar, some districts have shown substantial improvements. However, districts continue to struggle in their anti-poverty endeavors.

Among the districts that witnessed the largest decline in poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21 are Kalahandi (Odisha), Alirajpur and Barwani (MP), Udaipur and Barmer (Rajasthan), Maharajganj and Gonda (UP), and Dang (Gujarat).

The sole district where poverty increased was Bijapur (Chhattisgarh).

Way forward-

There is need to implement national programs effectively at the district and municipal levels.

India still has the largest number of impoverished individuals globally, around 230 million in 2019-21. There is nedd top enhance their nutrition through improved meal programs in Anganwadis and schools.

The COVID-19 pandemic might have further increased poverty. It has pushed 300 million people in poverty.

The MDPI indicators provide valuable insights on where to intensify the battle against poverty. The struggle against poverty cannot be won solely through a top-down approach. it demands a concerted bottom-up endeavor.