English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

India pulled out over 27 crore out of poverty in a decade, halved poverty rate: UNDP

Published

7 years ago

on

India pulled out over 27 crore out of poverty in a decade, halved poverty rate: UNDP

In one of the best news about India in several years, a UN report has said that India has halved its poverty rate from 55 per cent to 28 per cent in ten years.

The 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) revealed that between 2005-06 and 2015-16, more than 271 million people have come out of the clutches of poverty in India.

Poverty reduction was fastest among children, the poorest states, scheduled tribes and Muslims.

The estimates were released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The report, however, stated that India still has the largest number of people living in multidimensional poverty in the world, pegging the figures around 364 million people.

The index evaluates poverty on three dimensions: health, education and living standards, with focus on access to clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition and primary education. Those deprived in at least of a third of the index’s components are defined as “multidimensionally poor”. As many as 83% of the multidimensionally poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the report said.

After India (364 million people), the countries with the largest number of people living in multi-dimensional poverty are Nigeria (97 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Pakistan (85 million), and Bangladesh (67 million).

The report also said India’s scale of poverty reduction has parallels with the phenomenal level of poverty reduction achieved in China a decade or so earlier.

“India’s scale of multidimensional poverty reduction over the decade from 2005/6 to 2015/16 – from 635 million poor persons to 364 million – brings to mind the speedy pace of China’s poverty reduction, which occurred over more than 20 years,” the report pointed out.

One of the striking findings is that 156 million out of 364 million people who are MPI poor in 2015/2016 are children.

The data noted that a change of global proportions occurred in India. Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, the number of multidimensionally poor people in India fell from 635 million to 364 million an historic shift.

Furthermore, in sharp contrast with the trend 1999 to 2006, when the poorest groups reduced multidimensional poverty the slowest, from 2005-06 to 2015-16 the poorest reduced MPI the fastest.

“That is, poverty reduction among children, the poorest states, scheduled tribes, and Muslims was fastest, indicating that, far from being left behind, they were catching up,” it said.

“India has made momentous progress in reducing multidimensional poverty. The incidence of multidimensional poverty was almost halved between 2005-06 and 2015-16, climbing down to 27.5 per cent,” it said.

It said that for the Scheduled Caste, the MPI fell from 0.338 in 2005-06 to 0.145 in 2015-16. For Other Backward Classes, the MPI fell from 0.291 in 2005-06 to 0.117 in 2015-16.

In the case of Muslims, the MPI fell from 0.331 in 2005-06 to 0.144 in 2015-16. For the Scheduled Tribes, the MPI fell from 0.447 in 2005-06 to 0.229 in 2015-16.

The data noted that the positive trend of pro-poor poverty reduction is seen also across religions and caste groups. In both cases, the poorest groups (Muslims and Scheduled Tribes) reduced poverty the most over the ten years from 2005-06 to 2015-16.

Yet these two groups still have the highest rates of poverty. For instance, while 80 per cent of those who identified themselves as being in a Scheduled Tribe had been poor in 2005-06, in 2015-16, 50 per cent of people belonging Scheduled Tribes are still poor.

Within India, 40.4 million people live in districts where more than 60 pe cent of people are poor 20.8 million live in the poorest districts in Bihar, 10.6 million in the poorest districts in Uttar Pradesh, and the remainder in the poorest districts in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

It noted that the landscape of the poorest has improved dramatically and, if current trends continue, is set to change.

The poorest groups across states, castes, religions, and ages had the biggest reductions in MPI 2005-06 to 2015-16, showing that they have been catching up, though they still experience much higher rates of poverty.

“This marks a dramatic reversal,” it said, adding that from 1998-99 to 2005-06 the opposite trend prevailed: India’s poorest groups had the slowest progress.

Among states, Jharkhand had the greatest improvement, with Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Nagaland only slightly behind. However, Bihar is still the poorest state in 2015/16, with more than half of its population in poverty.

In 2015/16, the four poorest states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh – were still home to 196 million MPI poor people, or over half of all the MPI poor people in India. Delhi, Kerala and Goa have the lowest incidence of multidimensional poverty.

About 1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty globally, the report said. This is almost a quarter of the population of the 104 countries for which the 2018 MPI is calculated. Of these 1.3 billion, almost half – 46per cent – arethought to be living in severe poverty and are deprived in at least half of the dimensions covered in the MPI, it said.

The report observes that while there is much that needs to be done to tackle poverty globally, there are “promising signs that such poverty can be – and is being – tackled.”

“Although the level of poverty particularly in children is staggering so is the progress that can be made in tackling it. In India alone some 271 million have escaped multidimensional poverty in just ten years,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said.

The global MPI is an internationally comparable measure of acute poverty for over 100 countries situated in developing regions. It complements global monetary poverty measures by capturing the simultaneous deprivations that each person experiences in ten indicators related to education, health and living standards. In 2018, five of the ten indicators have been revised.

The global MPI was first developed in 2010 by the UNDP and OPHI at the University of Oxford for the UNDP flagship publication Human Development Report.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

India News

BJP and Shiv Sena reach broad seat-sharing deal ahead of BMC elections

BJP and Shiv Sena are close to finalising seat-sharing for 200 wards ahead of the BMC elections, while opposition parties intensify alliance talks across Maharashtra.

Published

19 hours ago

on

December 27, 2025

By

BJP Shivsena

The BJP and Shiv Sena have almost sealed their seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with an understanding reached on 200 of the total 227 wards in Mumbai, according to sources. The civic body polls are scheduled to be held on January 15.

The agreement was discussed during a late-night meeting of the Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The meeting took place at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s residence in Thane and focused on strategy for several key municipal corporations, including Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai.

Sources said similar meetings are lined up for Mumbai and other civic bodies such as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Panvel and Mira-Bhayandar, as alliance partners work to finalise ward-level arrangements and campaign planning.

Congress explores new alliances in Mumbai

In Mumbai, Congress leaders are scheduled to meet Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi as the party looks to rebuild its alliance structure after parting ways with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction). The distancing followed Sena (UBT)’s decision to join hands with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray.

Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has confirmed that the party will contest the BMC elections in alliance with the MNS and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar. The inclusion of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) comes after Sharad Pawar rejected a proposal from the Ajit Pawar-led faction that offered limited seat allocation.

Despite the split, sources indicated that discussions may continue, with meetings expected between Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and her cousin Ajit Pawar to determine future political moves.

Local body strategies take shape across Maharashtra

Meanwhile, MNS chief Raj Thackeray is set to hold a meeting with party leaders at his Shivtirth residence to finalise the party’s election strategy, including campaign issues and candidate selection.

In Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Shiv Sena MLA and minister Sanjay Shirsat will meet BJP leaders, including state ministers Chandrakant Bawankule and Atul Save, to discuss preparations for the civic polls.

Seat-sharing talks are also underway in Mira-Bhayandar, where Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik and BJP MLA Narendra Mehta are expected to hold discussions. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, however, is planning to contest the elections independently in the region.

Panvel is set to witness a major opposition meeting involving Sena (UBT), Congress, MNS, NCP (SP), Samajwadi Party and the VBA. The gathering, led by the Peasants and Workers Party, will focus on finalising seat-sharing arrangements and joint election strategies.

Continue Reading

India News

Op Aaghat 3.0: Delhi police arrest over 280 accused ahead of New Year celebrations

Delhi police arrested over 280 accused and detained more than 1,300 individuals under Operation Aaghat 3.0 ahead of New Year, seizing weapons, drugs, liquor and stolen items.

Published

22 hours ago

on

December 27, 2025

By

Op Aaghat 3.0: Delhi police arrest over 280 accused ahead of New Year celebrations

Delhi police carried out a large-scale preventive crackdown across sensitive pockets of the national capital ahead of New Year, arresting hundreds of accused and detaining over a thousand individuals to ensure peaceful celebrations.

The overnight operation, conducted under Operation Aaghat 3.0, focused on crime-prone areas and resulted in major seizures, including illegal weapons, narcotics, illicit liquor, cash and stolen property, according to police officials.

Major arrests and seizures during the drive

As part of the intensified security drive, at least 285 accused were arrested under various legal provisions, including the Arms Act, Excise Act, NDPS Act and Gambling Act. In addition, 504 people were detained as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incidents during the festive period.

Police officials said the operation led to the recovery of 21 illegal weapons, including country-made pistols, along with 20 live cartridges and 27 knives. Authorities also seized over 12,000 quarters of illicit liquor, around Rs 2.5 lakh in cash, and nearly 7 kg of cannabis from different locations.

Focus on habitual offenders and vehicle theft

The crackdown also targeted repeat offenders. Under the operation, 116 habitual offenders, referred to by police as “bad characters,” were taken into custody, while 10 property offenders were arrested.

To curb vehicle-related crimes during New Year celebrations, police dismantled auto-lifting networks and arrested five auto-lifters. During the raids, 231 two-wheelers and one four-wheeler were seized.

Action against gambling and stolen goods

In a parallel action against gambling activities, police recovered Rs 2.3 lakh in cash. The operation also led to the recovery of about 210 stolen or lost mobile phones, offering relief to several complainants.

Apart from arrests and detentions, a total of 1,306 individuals were rounded up under preventive measures, officials added, stating that the coordinated effort was aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring a crime-free New Year in the capital.

Continue Reading

India News

Over 2,000 Maoists surrender under Chhattisgarh rehabilitation policy, says CM Vishnu Deo Sai

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said more than 2,000 Maoists have surrendered under the state’s rehabilitation policy, which offers skill training, financial assistance and land support.

Published

22 hours ago

on

December 27, 2025

By

CM surrender Maoist

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday said that more than 2,000 Maoists have surrendered so far under the state’s rehabilitation policy, asserting that the government is committed to treating surrendered cadres fairly and supporting their reintegration into society.

Addressing the issue, the Chief Minister said the state government has repeatedly appealed to Maoists to abandon violence and gunfire and return to the mainstream of development. He said the impact of these efforts is now visible, with a large number of cadres laying down arms.

According to Vishnu Deo Sai, the rehabilitation framework focuses on long-term welfare. Surrendered Maoists are being provided skill training along with monthly financial assistance of Rs 10,000. He added that the new policy also includes provisions for allotment of land for farming and land to build houses in urban areas, aimed at securing their future and livelihood.

Fresh surrenders reported from Bijapur

Earlier, 34 Naxals surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district under the state government’s rehabilitation initiative titled Poona Margham: Punarvas Se Punarjeevan (Return to the Mainstream: Social Reintegration through Rehabilitation). Police officials said the surrendered cadres were carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 84 lakh.

Officials noted that the latest surrenders reflect the growing impact of sustained anti-Naxal measures combined with confidence-building initiatives focused on welfare and reintegration.

Centre’s target to eliminate Naxalism by March 2026

The Chief Minister’s remarks come amid the Central Government’s stated goal to eradicate Naxalism from the country by March 2026 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Authorities believe that rehabilitation-driven policies, along with security operations, are playing a key role in weakening the influence of Left-wing extremism in affected regions.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com