415 Million Indians Lifted Out Of Poverty Within 15 Years: UN

In a remarkable achievement, a total of 415 million people moved out of poverty in India within just 15 years from 2005-06 to 2019-21, the UN said on Tuesday.

The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford.

It said that 25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years, showing that rapid progress is attainable.

The analysis of trends from 2000 to 2022, focused on 81 countries with comparable data over time, reveals that 25 countries successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years, showing that rapid progress is attainable.

These include Cambodia, China, Congo, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, and Viet Nam.

In April, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, according to UN data.

"Notably, India saw a remarkable reduction in poverty, with 415 million people exiting poverty within a span of just 15 years (2005/6-19/21). Large numbers of people were lifted out of poverty in China (2010-14, 69 million) and Indonesia (2012-17, 8 million)," the report said.

The report demonstrates that poverty reduction is achievable. However, the lack of comprehensive data during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic poses challenges in assessing immediate prospects, it said.

In India, 415 million poor people moved out of poverty from 2005-2006 to 2019-2021, with incidence falling from 55.1 per cent in 2005-2006 to 16.4 per cent in 2019-2021.

In 2005-2006, about 645 million people were in multidimensional poverty in India, with this number declining to about 370 million in 2015-2016 and 230 million in 2019-2021.

The report noted that deprivation in all indicators declined in India, and "the poorest states and groups, including children and people in disadvantaged caste groups, had the fastest absolute progress."