India Lifted 415 Million People Out of Poverty in Just 15 Years, UN Report Reveals

New Delhi, July 11, 2023: In a remarkable achievement, India has witnessed the emergence of 415 million individuals from poverty within a span of 15 years, according to the latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford.

The report highlighted that 25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within the same 15-year period, demonstrating the attainability of rapid progress in poverty reduction. These countries encompassed Cambodia, China, Congo, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, and Vietnam.

India’s extraordinary reduction in poverty was lauded in the report, which noted the exit of 415 million people from poverty between 2005/2006 and 2019/2021. The incidence of poverty decreased from 55.1% in 2005/2006 to 16.4% in 2019/2021, showcasing a significant improvement.

The report further detailed the decline of deprivation in various indicators in India, emphasizing the fastest progress among the poorest states and groups, including children and individuals from disadvantaged caste groups. Notable improvements were observed in areas such as nutrition, child mortality, access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, and housing.

However, the report also acknowledged the challenges posed by the lack of comprehensive data during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult to assess immediate prospects and the pandemic’s impact on poverty.

India’s achievements in poverty reduction contribute to global efforts to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by halving poverty within national definitions. The report called for context-specific multidimensional poverty indices that reflect individual nations’ definitions of poverty to provide a more accurate assessment.

While celebrating the progress made in poverty reduction before the pandemic, the report urged intensified efforts to comprehend the dimensions most affected by the crisis. It emphasized the necessity for strengthened data collection and policy measures to restore momentum in poverty reduction.

The scarcity of data on multidimensional poverty was highlighted as a challenge by the Director of OPHI at the University of Oxford, Sabina Alkire, who called for breakthroughs in poverty data collection to better track and address the interconnected deprivations faced by impoverished individuals.

The global MPI plays a vital role in monitoring poverty reduction and guiding policy interventions by illuminating the multidimensional aspects of poverty, such as education, health, living standards, and access to basic amenities.