According to recent reports, poverty in India has been decreasing over the past few decades, but it remains a major challenge. Here are some key points from the search results:
- In 2019, the Indian government stated that 6.7% of its population is below its official poverty limit.
- According to a government report released in July 2023, nearly 135 million people, around 10% of Indias population, escaped poverty in the five years to March 2021.
- Despite this progress, there are still 229 million Indians who live in poverty, which is the largest number of poor people in a single country anywhere in the world.
- The urban-rural divide of poverty remains very pronounced; as many as 21.2% of India’s rural-living citizens live in poverty, which contrasts with the much smaller 5.5% of impoverished urban dwellers.
- According to Oxfam, Indias top 1% of the population now holds 73% of the wealth, while 670 million citizens, comprising the countrys poorest half, saw their wealth rise by just 1% .
- A report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released in July 2023 said the number of people living in multidimensional poverty fell to 16.4% of Indias population in 2021 from 55% in 2005.
- The recently introduced multidimensional deprivation index (MPI) also places about 645 million (55.4%) Indians below the poverty line.
- India has made significant progress in reducing poverty in recent decades, but the economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on poverty and inequality.
- Girls in India have seen a significant reduction in poverty over the past 15 years, with the number of people seen as poor by the MPI reducing from 55% of the population to some 16% .
In summary, while India has made progress in reducing poverty, it remains a significant challenge, with a large number of people still living in poverty. The urban-rural divide of poverty remains pronounced, and wealth inequality is also a concern.
