Date: 19/10/2022

Relevance: GS-2: Issues relating to Poverty and Hunger.

Key Phrases: Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MDPI), Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the incidence of poverty, Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2.

Why in News?

• As many as 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15 years between 2005-06 and 2019-21, out of which two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released recently.

What is the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MDPI)?

• MPI is based on the idea that poverty is not unidimensional (not just dependent on income and one individual may lack several basic needs like education, health, etc.), rather it is multi-dimensional.
• The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was developed in 2010 by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• MPI uses three dimensions and ten indicators which are:
  • Education: Years of schooling and child enrolment (1/6 weightage each, total 2/6);
  • Health: Child mortality and nutrition (1/6 weightage each, total 2/6);
  • Standard of living: Electricity, flooring, drinking water, sanitation, cooking fuel, and assets, (1/18 weightage each, total 2/6).

How is MDPI calculated?

• All indicators are equally weighted within each dimension. The global MPI identifies people as multidimensionally poor if their deprivation score is 1/3 or higher.
• The MPI is calculated by multiplying the incidence of poverty and the average intensity of poverty.
• The MPI ranges from 0 to 1, and higher values imply higher poverty.
• By identifying who is poor, the nature of their poverty (their deprivation profile), and how poor they are (deprivation score), the global MPI complements the international $1.90 a day poverty rate, which was revised by the World Bank last month to $2.15 per day.

Key findings of the report:

• The incidence of poverty fell from 55.1% in 2005/06 to 16.4% in 2019/21 in the country and deprivations in all 10 MPI indicators saw significant reductions as a result of which the MPI value and incidence of poverty more than halved.
• Improvement in MPI for India has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty in South Asia and it is for the first time that it is not the region with the highest number of poor people, at 38.5 crores, compared with 57.9 crores in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Globally, of the total 610 crore people across 111 developing countries, 19.1% or 120 crores live in multidimensional poverty. Nearly half of them live in severe poverty.

Performance of states:

• The report states that across states and UTs the fastest poverty reduction in relative terms was in Goa, followed by J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
• Bihar, the poorest State in 2015/2016, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value in absolute terms.
• The incidence of poverty there fell from 77.4% in 2005/2006 to 52.4% in 2015/2016 to 34.7% in 2019/2021. However, in relative terms, the poorest States have not caught up.
• Of the 10 poorest States in 2015/2016, only one (West Bengal) was not among the 10 poorest in 2019/2021.
• The rest - Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan —remain among the 10 poorest.

The largest number of poor:

• India has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crores, followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crores.
• Two-thirds of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived of nutrition.
• There were also 9.7 crore poor children in India in 2019/2021- more than the total number of poor people, children, and adults combined, in any other country covered by the global MPI.

The relative reduction in poverty:

• The relative reduction from 2015/2016 to 2019/21 was faster: 11.9% a year compared with 8.1% from 2005/2006 to 2015/2016.
• This is unsurprising because relative poverty reduction is easier to achieve when starting levels of poverty are lower.

SDG Goal:

• The Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2 is for countries to reduce at least half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030. India’s progress shows that this goal is feasible, even at scale.

Conclusion:

• The eradication of poverty requires universal access to economic opportunities that will promote sustainable livelihood and basic social services.
• The broad alleviation efforts include the provision of food security, land rights, education, employment, and primary health care services including reproductive health care, safe drinking water and sanitation.
• The government must provide transparency and accountability to various organizations that are responsible for the implementation of welfare schemes related to poverty alleviation.
• It must also provide resilience for poor households to withstand major shocks through a holistic, multi-faceted intervention designed to help people lift themselves from extreme poverty by providing them with the tools, skills, and resources required.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Why does poverty persist as a serious problem in India despite several attempts to combat it? Suggest some measures for poverty alleviation in India.