The World Bank reported recently that India’s head-count measure of poverty was estimated at 5.3% of the population in 2022-23. This measure was 27.1% as recently as 2011-12. The two numbers imply that during a period of about a decade, 171 million Indians had been pulled out of extreme poverty. While this finding is undoubtedly something to be proud of as a nation, there are some questions that remain unexplained. The first query relates to an estimate, made just after the pandemic, that about 230 million Indians went under the poverty line because of the loss of incomes and livelihoods. The Covid-19 pandemic had receded around 2022-23; thus, the World Bank estimate does not include a longer time period after the pandemic when livelihoods and incomes could have been restored and poverty reduced. The second puzzle concerns the World Bank’s revision of the poverty line upwards from $2.15 per head, per day to $3 per head, per day. When the poverty line is raised, more people are expected to be included as poor, not less. The Government of India usually points out methodological flaws when some piece of international statistics does not look favourable. When the opposite happens, there is no criticism made about the method adopted or the database used.
Even if it is agreed, for argument’s sake, that a sizeable number of Indians have been pulled out of extreme poverty, it does not reveal many other aspects of the poverty challenge. Some internationally-accepted metrics of development and well-being, such as per capita income, the Human Development Index, and the Global Hunger Index show that India is ranked poorly on these indices. India’s rankings are 144, 130 and 105, respectively, on these indexes as per the latest available data. Therefore, the nation evidently cannot rest on the laurels of reducing extreme poverty to a significant degree. There are many qualitative issues that need to be addressed. The security of livelihoods and stable, healthy incomes are important ingredients of social and economic well-being. These are lacking in India and many people slip in and out of poverty according to the exigencies of economic fluctuations. The required economic safety net is far from being comprehensive in terms of coverage and reach. Discrimination along the lines of gender and caste as well as regional disparities is pertinent to India’s poverty map. For India to be a developed nation by 2047, poverty eradication has to be meaningful and alleviation measures spread equally. It is not enough to be merely statistically attractive on a few indices of development.