Extreme Poverty Rate Drops To 5.3% From 27.1% In India: World Bank Report

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forward-thinking administration, India has achieved notable progress in the past ten years in lowering its extreme poverty rate, which decreased to 5.3 percent in 2022-23 from 27.1 percent in 2011-12, according to the latest World Bank statistics.

In 2022-23, approximately 75.24 million individuals were experiencing extreme poverty in India, a significant decrease from 344.47 million in 2011-12. World Bank data indicates that this signifies 269 million people were raised above extreme poverty in around 11 years.

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 total reduction in extreme poverty by 2022-23. The World Bank’s analysis, derived from the $3.00 per day international poverty threshold (applying 2021 prices), indicates a widespread decrease in both rural and urban regions.

At a daily consumption of $2.15 – the previous poverty line using 2017 prices – the percentage of Indians in extreme poverty is 2.3 percent, considerably lower than the 16.2 percent recorded in 2011-12, according to estimates from the World Bank.

In 2022, the count of individuals living beneath the $2.15-per-day poverty threshold stands at 33.66 million, a decrease from 205.93 million in 2011, according to recent statistics. Additionally, the data revealed that this significant reduction was consistent, with rural extreme poverty dropping from 18.4 percent to 2.8 percent and urban extreme poverty decreasing from 10.7 percent to 1.1 percent over the past 11 years.

Additionally, India has achieved significant advancements in decreasing multidimensional poverty. 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, based on the statistics.

With the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre marking 11 years in power, PM Modi has emphasized the groundbreaking measures implemented by the Centre aimed at lifting people out of poverty and its commitment to empowerment, infrastructure, and inclusion.

Schemes such as PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujjwala Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, and Ayushman Bharat have improved accessibility to housing, clean cooking fuel, banking services, and medical care.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), digital inclusion, and strong rural infrastructure have facilitated transparency and quicker benefit delivery to the last mile, assisting more than 25 crore individuals in overcoming poverty.