United Nations Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report 2019 has noted that has India has lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016
‘India’s has been the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as “assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition’, the report said.
United Nations published the 2019 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) on 11 July 2019, part of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The report noted that amongst the 101 countries studied; 31 are low-income countries, 68 middle income and 2 high-income countries.
In these countries, “a total of 1.3 billion people are ‘multi-dimensionally poor’; which means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence”.
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam are the 10 countries highlighted in the MPI report and have shown a significant reduction in poverty levels.
According to the report, India has reduced its poverty rate drastically from 55% to 28% in the past ten years. 271 million people moved out of poverty between 2006 and 2016.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index Report by the United Nations has also established that child mortality rates in India have also dropped by 8 percent. Infant mortality rates have also seen an improvement.
The report said that Jharkhand in India reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent in 2005-06 to 46.5 per cent in 2015-16, the fastest region in India. The United Nations has lauded India for successfully bringing down poverty levels in the rural regions.