Key Facts from Estimates of Multidimensional Poverty in India

Multi dimensional poverty (MDP) is an international measure of acute poverty. MDP is based on three key categories of health, education and living standards.

The findings of the paper titled ‘Estimates of Multidimensional Poverty in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016) are

• Between 2005-06 to 2015-16, poverty levels have come down from 55% to 21%, improving the country’s MDP ranking.
• As a result of the decline in the poverty India has moved to the 26th rank from its earlier 54, in a decade, among 102 developing countries with MDP.
• The fall in the poverty levels which is at the rate of 3.4 points per annum on average is contributed to the “lower burden of poverty” among the southern Indian States.
• The poverty levels have dropped in all States. The national average stands at 21%. The average for the five southern states is at 9%.
• Among the southern states Kerala has an MDP of 1%, Tamil Nadu (6%), Karnataka (11%), Telangana (14%) and Andhra Pradesh (13%).
• Bihar is the poorest State with 43% incidence of poverty. Jharkhand (36%), Uttar Pradesh (31%), Rajasthan (31%) and Odisha (29%) are also above the national average (21%) the poverty levels in the other bigger states are Madhya Pradesh (28%) and Assam (25%).
• 31 districts all of which are in eastern or central India have over 50% MDP. The top five districts with the largest prevalence of MDP are in Shravasti, Baharaich and Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh, and Alirajpur and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh.

It is said that India did not perform well at least in two indicators of MDP which includes nutrition and child mortality. The improvements in the overall ranking are contributed to the better performance in other areas. [The Hindu]