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

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8 years ago

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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.

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Pralhad Joshi appointed Education Minister after Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation

Pralhad Joshi has been entrusted with the additional charge of the Education Ministry after President Droupadi Murmu accepted Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation amid the prolonged student protests over alleged examination paper leaks.

Published

6 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Education after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.

The President’s office confirmed the appointment through an official communique issued on Saturday evening. Joshi will continue to hold his existing portfolio as Union Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs while also overseeing the Education Ministry.

Dharmendra Pradhan resigns amid prolonged protests

Dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation on the 35th day of the student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over alleged examination paper leaks.

In his resignation letter, the 57-year-old leader said he chose to step down to prevent anti-national forces from exploiting the situation.

“For over four decades, I have dedicated myself to the cause of students, teachers, and educational reform. I have always believed that a robust, inclusive, and visionary education system forms the cornerstone of a strong nation,” Pradhan said.

CJP ends protest after Centre’s assurance

Hours after Pradhan’s resignation, CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, during a joint press conference with Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, announced that the organisation was ending its protest in good faith after receiving assurances from the Centre that its demands would be addressed.

The resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan had been the principal demand of the organisation founded by Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University graduate who returned to India to lead the campaign against alleged examination paper leaks.

Joshi reiterates government’s stand on students

A day before taking charge of the Education Ministry, Pralhad Joshi said the Centre remained committed to protecting students’ interests and ensuring strict action against irregularities affecting examinations.

He also alleged that anti-social elements were attempting to exploit the CJP-led protests and urged students to remain vigilant while continuing peaceful demonstrations.

“The Modi government has always stood with students and the youth. It remains committed to taking strict action against any irregularities or injustices that affect their future,” Joshi had said.

He added that while students have every right to protest peacefully, they should ensure that their genuine concerns are not misused by anti-social elements.

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Dharmendra Pradhan submits resignation to PM Modi amid student protests

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours before the third round of talks between the Centre and the Cockroach Janta Party.

Published

13 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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Dharmendra Pradhan

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking a major development amid the ongoing student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Pradhan announced the decision through a post on X, just hours before the Centre was scheduled to hold the third round of talks with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has been leading the agitation over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

The resignation of the Education Minister had remained the primary demand of the protesters, who have been camping at Jantar Mantar for more than a month seeking accountability and reforms in the examination system.

The latest development comes at a crucial time as both sides prepare for another round of discussions aimed at resolving the prolonged standoff.

As of now, there has been no official announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office on whether Pradhan’s resignation has been accepted. Further details are awaited.

Resignation comes before key Centre-CJP meeting

The announcement was made only hours before representatives of the Centre and the Cockroach Janta Party were expected to meet for the third round of negotiations.

The talks are being closely watched as the government attempts to end the month-long protest, with the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan remaining one of the protesters’ central demands.

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CJP says Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation non-negotiable ahead of third round of talks

CJP has hardened its stand before the third round of talks with the Centre, insisting that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation remains its primary and non-negotiable demand.

Published

16 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has reiterated that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan remains its top demand, just hours before the third round of discussions with the Centre on Saturday.

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the organisation would see little purpose in continuing negotiations if the government was unwilling to remove the minister.

In a post on X, Ranka said Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation was “non-negotiable” and added that there was no point in holding further discussions if the government rejected the demand.

The third round of talks is scheduled for Saturday afternoon after Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh met CJP representatives for nearly two hours during the second round of discussions on Friday.

According to the CJP, it has placed three key demands before the Centre:

  • Resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
  • A guarantee that no legal action will be taken against protesting students.
  • Compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide following the NEET paper leak.

During Friday’s meeting, the Centre agreed in principle to two of the demands — ensuring no legal action against protesting students and providing compensation. However, the demand for the Education Minister’s resignation remains unresolved.

Speaking after the meeting, JP Nadda said the protesters had also submitted five suggestions for reforms to the examination system. He said the government would hold internal discussions before responding during Saturday’s meeting.

Government sources, however, indicated that Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is not under consideration. According to the sources, the government believes resignation is not the appropriate course of action and continues to back the minister.

Meanwhile, the Centre has announced several measures aimed at tackling examination paper leaks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the establishment of fast-track courts to hear paper leak cases, while the government is preparing amendments to strengthen the law with stricter punishments and higher fines.

The Centre has also replaced the Education Secretary and removed 47 officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA), while promising broader reforms within the examination body.

Responding to the action against NTA officials, Ashutosh Ranka said the move alone was insufficient. He maintained that accountability ultimately rests with the Education Minister and reiterated that Dharmendra Pradhan must resign.

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