Steep Decline In Number Of Multidimensionally Poor: Centre (image: niti.gov.in/)
When questions has been raised at the Parliament Winter Session about the data of people living under Below Poverty Line (BPL) in the country, the union government, citing “National Multidimensional Poverty Index” released by NITI Aayog, claimed that there is decrease in the number of multidimensionally poor in the country.
In July this year, NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, released the ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023″ and as per its report, there is a descend in the number of multidimensionally poor from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21. “A Steep decline has been reported in number of multidimensionally poor from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21,” the government said. The Progress Review was published by the nodal agency in association with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
As per the data, 13.5 crore people escaped “Multidimensional Poverty” during the five-year time period, i.e., 2015-16 and 2019-21. The Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) intends to understand poverty beyond monetary absence, and the World Bank defines it “an index that measures the percentage of households in a country deprived along three dimensions namely monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services to represent a more complete picture of poverty.”
The government has also referred the data released in 2013 by the erstwhile Planning Commission of India and said the percentage of the population living below the poverty line in India was 22 per cent in 2011-12. The Planning Commission evaluated levels of poverty in India on the basis of consumer expenditure surveys organised by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. “For the year 2011-12, the poverty line at all India level has been estimated as Monthly Per-capita Consumption Expenditure of Rs. 816 for rural areas and Rs. 1000 for urban areas,” the government said. The Planning Commission estimates levels of poverty in the country on the basis of consumer expenditure surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Central Government responded that they have introduced several schemes to reduce poverty in India, and some involves Direct Benefit transfer of resources/money, while others aims at facilitating infrastructural provisions. These schemes include Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) among many others. Furthermore, the government adds that the latest Survey on Household Consumption Expenditure (HCES): 2022-23 has began by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation from August, 2022.
