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The NITI Aayog in its latest publication on MPI in India (2015-2021) has reported a steep decline in overall poor people from 25% to 15% thereby saving 14 crore people from abject poverty. The data taken for assessment were based upon the results of the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5) conducted between 2019-2021. Inroads made in better hygiene facilities, stove fuel, clean water, and savings account have aided many families to benefit via various schemes. Nourishment, Under-5, teenager mortality rates with prenatal care recorded a medium variation. Malnourishment rates dropped from 37% to 31%, prenatal- care impoverishment dropped from 23% to 19.2%, while under-5 and teen mortality rates were brought down from 2.7% to 2.1%.
The factors that did not decline
Lack of nourishment and schooling have pushed 14.3% of Indians (i.e., 1 per 7) on the borderlines of abject poverty. Nutritional inadequacy still accounts for another one-third of the population trapped in MPI. At present, nutritional inadequacy is studied by obtaining nutritional data of children under-2.5 years and by examining the Quetelet index (also called BMI) of females between 15-49 years and males between 15-54 years. If their overall weight stands at 18.5 kg/m2, then they are labeled as malnourished. If any member of the household is seen emaciated, then the whole family falls under the malnourished category.
A drop in educational access stands at 17 percent coupled with falling school participation rates at 9% and haphazard mechanisms for adequate prenatal care for mothers cause a staggering deprivation rate of 12% which keeps many Indians below the MPI. While positive strides have been made in the fields of hygiene and the availability of stove fuel in homes, it’s also saddening to note that around 30% of Indian citizens still lack basic hygiene facilities. 44% of citizens still continue to remain without getting any benefits from stove fuel. Inaccessibility to a decent home for people stood at 41% (in 2019-21) a tiny upgrade from 46% (in 2015-16).
How did the ‘states’ perform?
Rural regions saw the quickest fall in poverty rates, with reductions as high as 33% (approx.) to 19.3% with developments recorded in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Jharkhand reduced it from 42% to 29%, U.P reduced it from 37.7% to 23%, Madhya Pradesh cut it from 36.6% to 21%. Bihar has also managed to reduce their MPI rates but still remains the only state with over 1/3rd of its population lying in poverty. They managed to reduce the incidence rates from 52% to 34%.
The states that have reduced their community poverty levels below 10% increased from 7 (by 2015) to 14 (by 2021). Goa, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu made the cut in 2015 and newer additions like Manipur, Karnataka, Haryana, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh made it only in 2021.
Govts after govts, both State and Central, have failed to see that the interior/remote under-developed villages of the country get its fair share of basic infrastructure developments. While Kerala still remains the only State topping all indexes of human development, education, health and welfare, etc, thanks to the State govt policies and initiatives year after year, Centre must ensure similar policies are adopted by other States as well. Welfare of the Senior Citizens must be given priority.