In ten years, poverty headcount ratio dropped to 8.5% from 21%: NCAER

In urban areas, the poverty level decreased from 13.4 per cent to 8.4 per cent. The decline in poverty in rural areas has been sharper than in urban areas

New Delhi: The level of poverty in India is estimated to have decreased to 8.5 per cent of the population in 2023-24 from 21 per cent in 2011-12, according to a new study by economic think tank NCAER.

The study was based on the latest data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS). The NCAER economists led by Sonalde Desai have estimated a decline in headcount poverty ratios in rural areas over the last 10 years from 24.8 per cent in 2011-12 to 8.6 per cent now.

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In urban areas, the poverty level decreased from 13.4 per cent to 8.4 per cent. The decline in poverty in rural areas has been sharper than in urban areas. The paper points out that there has been a significant increase in food subsidy through the public distribution system and other benefits run through multiple schemes launched by the Centre as well as the States which have benefited the poor.

This sharper decline in poverty in rural areas was also reflected in a recent SBI Research report based on the NSSO Consumer Expenditure Survey. According to the SBI report, poverty has staged a significant 4.4 per cent decline since 2018-19 and Urban Poverty 1.7 per cent decline post-pandemic, which shows that government initiatives for promoting the welfare of the bottom of the pyramid are having a significant beneficial impact on rural livelihood, the report states.

Along with the sharp decline in poverty in India, there has also been a marked reduction in the rural-urban income divide in the country, the report said. According to a recent NITI Aayog discussion paper, India has registered a significant decline in multidimensional poverty in India from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23 which is a reduction of 17.89 percentage points.

Significant initiatives covering all dimensions of poverty have led to 24.82 crore individuals escaping multidimensional poverty in the last 9 years, the NITI Aayog paper said. Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty during the last nine years followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore, Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore and Rajasthan at 1.87 crore, it added.