posted by India

1. Poverty rate in
India was slashed,
says report, but
globally 1.2bn still
poor
 Index shows 1 in 5 people in the developing
world living in multidimensional poverty
 Hundreds of millions lack adequate nutrition,
sanitation, housing and good cooking facilities
 But, India’s MPI poverty rate fell from 55.1%
to 16.4% as millions were lifted out of poverty
Poverty can be overcome with on-the-ground strategies
enabling millions of people around the world to move out of
‘multidimensional poverty’, according to research published
today by the United Nations Development Programme and
the University of Oxford. The Multidimensional Poverty
Index shows 1.2 billion people in 111 developing countries
are living in many layers of poverty but, by showing granular
information about specific poverty markers, the data could
enable policymakers to unbundle the layers of deprivation
and alleviate poverty.
Powerful poverty interventions are needed, because the data
do not yet represent the post-pandemic world – where
resources are scarce and poverty likely increased. The
numbers are daunting, according to the team. But the report
contains some good news.
The poorest states...reduced poverty the fastest. We need some good news
and India’s data are very encouraging
Dr Usha Kanagaratnam

2. Dr Usha Kanagaratnam, who leads the global MPI
estimations at Oxford, shared, ‘In India 415 million people
left poverty in 15 years. This finding (which is a lower
bound) – that a huge country can more than halve
multidimensional poverty in 15 years – really is a cause for
hope. The poorest states, and children, reduced poverty the
fastest. We need some good news and India’s data are very
encouraging.’
Professor Sabina Alkire, of Oxford’s Poverty and Human
Development Initiative, says the MPI reveals the interlinked
nature of poverty for each of the millions who are
impoverished, ‘The report is innovative because it looks at
the precise bundles of deprivations for each poor person and
shows exactly which deprivations people are experiencing.
'For example, 374 million poor people are deprived in
nutrition, sanitation, housing and cooking fuel at the same
time; 445 million lack both electricity and clean drinking
water, and 4.1 million are deprived in all included indicators.
There is no magic bullet for poverty but this information provides
understanding
Professor Sabina Alkire
Using this data, she says, policymakers around the world can
identify the exact factors comprising poverty and design
actions that are more efficient in ending it. According to
Professor Alkire, ‘There is no magic bullet for poverty but
this information provides understanding.’
‘We are all familiar,’ she says. ‘With how the school lunch
programme worked – it is an example of how action on one
area of poverty can have an impact on several. This data
provides information which can be used to make a
difference.’
Unfortunately, the data was collected before COVID but, she
says, the report shows there were major reductions in poverty
in India. The numbers of MPI poor reduced from 55% of the
population to some 16% in fifteen years.

3. ‘It’s a massive reduction,’ she says. ‘Both for India and at a
global scale. That really is cause for hope.’