Approximately 75.24 million individuals were living in extreme poverty in India during the period of 2022-23, marking a significant decrease from 344.47 million in 2011-12.
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has achieved remarkable progress in the past decade in reducing its extreme poverty rate, which has decreased to 5.3 percent in 2022-23 from 27.1 percent in 2011-12, as revealed by the latest data from the World Bank.
According to this data, this indicates that 269 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty over the span of approximately 11 years.
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, which together represented 65 percent of India’s extreme poor in 2011-12, were responsible for two-thirds of the overall reduction in extreme poverty by 2022-23.
The World Bank’s evaluation, based on the international poverty line of $3.00 per day (using 2021 prices), demonstrates a widespread reduction in both rural and urban regions.
At a daily consumption level of $2.15 – the previous poverty line based on 2017 prices – the proportion of Indians living in extreme poverty stands at 2.3 percent, a significant decline from 16.2 percent in 2011-12, according to estimates from the World Bank.
The number of individuals living below the $2.15-per-day poverty threshold is recorded at 33.66 million in 2022, down from 205.93 million in 2011, based on the latest data.
The data also indicated that this substantial decline was consistently observed, with rural extreme poverty decreasing from 18.4 percent to 2.8 percent and urban extreme poverty dropping from 10.7 percent to 1.1 percent over the last 11 years.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) fell from 53.8 percent in 2005-06 to 16.4 percent by 2019-21 and further decreased to 15.5 percent in 2022-23, according to the data.
As the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre marks 11 years in office, PM Modi has emphasized the groundbreaking measures taken by the Centre to uplift individuals from poverty, focusing on empowerment, infrastructure, and inclusion.
Programs such as PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, and Ayushman Bharat have significantly improved access to housing, clean cooking fuel, banking services, and healthcare.
The implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), along with digital inclusion and a strong rural infrastructure, has facilitated transparency and expedited the delivery of benefits to the most remote areas, assisting more than 25 crore individuals in overcoming poverty.
(Newsroom staff only edited this story for style from a syndicated feed)
