Lok Sabha Question No. 233 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: People Living Below the Poverty Line
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 233 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## PEOPLE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

## 233 SHRI RAJU BISTA:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has data on the number of people living below the poverty line in India and if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (b) whether there has been a decrease in the percentage of people living below the poverty line particularly in the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and North Dinajpur and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  plans  on  rolling  out  schemes  and  programmes  for  financial cushioning to keep people from slipping back into chronic poverty particularly in West Bengal; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a)  &  (b)  In  2020,  NITI  Aayog  was  identified  as  the  nodal  agency  for  the  Multidimensional Poverty Index  (MPI),  responsible  for constructing an indigenized  index  to monitor  the performance  of  States  and  Union  Territories.  The  MPI,  based  on  the  Alkire-Foster  (AF) methodology, is an internationally recognized measure that complements monetary measures of poverty  by  capturing  overlapping  deprivations  in  dimensions  such  as  health,  education,  and standard  of  living.  NITI  Aayog  constituted  an  inter-ministerial  MPI  Coordination  Committee (MPICC) including Ministries  and  Departments  pertaining  to  areas  such  as  health,  education, nutrition,  rural  development,  drinking  water,  sanitation,  electricity,  and  urban  development,

among  others.  It also included  experts  from  the  Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme Implementation and the technical partners - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As a result, a comprehensive National MPI for India was developed. The baseline report was published in November 2021 and the second edition of the National MPI report was released in July 2023.

As  per  NITI  Aayog's  report  'National  Multidimensional  Poverty  Index: A  Progress  Review 2023',  an  overview  of  State/UT:  Headcount  ratio,  Intensity  and  Multi-Dimensional  Poverty Index (MPI), is given at Annexure.

As  per  NITI  Aayog's  report  'National  Multidimensional  Poverty  Index:  A  Progress  Review 2023 '  a  steep  decline  has  been  reported  in  number  of  multidimensionally  poor  in  India  from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 to 2019-21 and particularly in the district of Darjeeling the proportion of individuals who are multidimensionally poor declined from 11.32% to 5.45% and in North Dinajpur from 42.84% to 21.65% between 2015-16 to 2019-21. However, the data for the district of Kalimpong is not available.

In January 2024, NITI Aayog has released a discussion paper 'Multidimensional Poverty in India since  2005-06'  capturing  the  estimates  of  multidimensional  poverty  from  2005-06  to  2022-23. According to the discussion paper, India has registered a significant decline in multidimensional poverty from 29.17% in 2013-14 to ll.28% in 2022-23.

(c) & (d)  The Government has initiated several Central sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes covering targeted beneficiaries that aim to improve the quality of life of the people and aimed at reducing population below poverty line in the country including the state of West Bengal.  The schemes either directly benefit the citizens through direct benefit transfer of resources/ money or provide facilities by creating enabling infrastructural provisions. These  include  Mahatma Gandhi  National Rural  Employment Guarantee  Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana -Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY),  Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana-  National  Urban  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM),  Deen Dayal Upadhayay -Gramin Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY),  Rural Self Employment Training  Institutes (RSETIs), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Pradhan Mantri Garib  Kalyan  Anna  Yojna  (PMGKAY),   Pradhan  Mantri  Ujjwala  Yojana  (PMUY),  Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY),  etc.

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  AND  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 233 FOR 24.07.2024 TO SHRI RAJU BISTA REGARDING PEOPLE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE:

| Admin Type   |                              | NFHS 4 (2015-16)    | NFHS 4 (2015-16)   | NFHS 4 (2015-16)   | NFHS 5 (2019-21)    | NFHS 5 (2019-21)   | NFHS 5 (2019-21)   |
|--------------|------------------------------|---------------------|--------------------|--------------------|---------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
|              | State                        | Headcount Ratio (H) | Intensity (A)      | MPI                | Headcount Ratio (H) | Intensity (A)      | MPI                |
| State        | Andhra Pradesh               | 11.77%              | 43.28%             | 0.051              | 6.06%               | 41.12%             | 0.025              |
|              | Arunachal Pradesh            | 24.23%              | 47.25%             | 0.115              | 13.76%              | 43.04%             | 0.059              |
|              | Assam                        | 32.65%              | 47.88%             | 0.156              | 19.35%              | 44.41%             | 0.086              |
|              | Bihar                        | 51.89%              | 51.01%             | 0.265              | 33.76%              | 47.40%             | 0.160              |
|              | Chhattisgarh                 | 29.90%              | 44.64%             | 0.133              | 16.37%              | 42.61%             | 0.070              |
|              | Goa                          | 3.76%               | 40.13%             | 0.015              | 0.84%               | 38.69%             | 0.003              |
|              | Gujarat                      | 18.47%              | 44.97%             | 0.083              | 11.66%              | 43.25%             | 0.050              |
|              | Haryana                      | 11.88%              | 44.40%             | 0.053              | 7.07%               | 43.34%             | 0.031              |
|              | Himachal Pradesh             | 7.59%               | 39.44%             | 0.030              | 4.93%               | 40.22%             | 0.020              |
|              | Jharkhand                    | 42.10%              | 47.92%             | 0.202              | 28.81%              | 45.59%             | 0.131              |
|              | Karnataka                    | 12.77%              | 42.76%             | 0.055              | 7.58%               | 41.21%             | 0.031              |
|              | Kerala                       | 0.70%               | 38.99%             | 0.003              | 0.55%               | 36.92%             | 0.002              |
|              | Madhya Pradesh               | 36.57%              | 47.25%             | 0.173              | 20.63%              | 43.70%             | 0.090              |
|              | Maharashtra                  | 14.80%              | 43.76%             | 0.065              | 7.81%               | 41.77%             | 0.033              |
|              | Manipur                      | 16.96%              | 44.61%             | 0.076              | 8.10%               | 41.91%             | 0.034              |
|              | Meghalaya                    | 32.54%              | 48.08%             | 0.156              | 27.79%              | 48.01%             | 0.133              |
|              | Mizoram                      | 9.78%               | 47.42%             | 0.046              | 5.30%               | 45.62%             | 0.024              |
|              | Nagaland                     | 25.16%              | 46.29%             | 0.116              | 15.43%              | 42.61%             | 0.066              |
|              | Odisha                       | 29.34%              | 46.42%             | 0.136              | 15.68%              | 44.50%             | 0.070              |
|              | Punjab                       | 5.57%               | 43.74%             | 0.024              | 4.75%               | 41.22%             | 0.020              |
|              | Rajasthan                    | 28.86%              | 47.34%             | 0.137              | 15.31%              | 42.70%             | 0.065              |
|              | Sikkim                       | 3.82%               | 41.20%             | 0.016              | 2.60%               | 41.02%             | 0.011              |
|              | Tamil Nadu                   | 4.76%               | 39.97%             | 0.019              | 2.20%               | 38.70%             | 0.009              |
|              | Telangana                    | 13.18%              | 43.29%             | 0.057              | 5.88%               | 40.85%             | 0.024              |
|              | Tripura                      | 16.62%              | 45.03%             | 0.075              | 13.11%              | 42.68%             | 0.056              |
|              | Uttar Pradesh                | 37.68%              | 47.60%             | 0.179              | 22.93%              | 44.83%             | 0.103              |
|              | Uttarakhand                  | 17.67%              | 44.35%             | 0.078              | 9.67%               | 41.99%             | 0.041              |
| UT           | West Bengal Andaman &Nicobar | 21.29% 4.29%        | 45.50% 40.50%      | 0.097 0.017        | 11.89% 2.30%        | 42.35% 40.62%      | 0.050 0.009        |
| UT           | Chandigarh                   | 5.97%               | 43.39%             | 0.026              | 3.52%               | 47.41%             | 0.017              |

| Dadra &Nagar Haveli &Daman &Diu   | 19.58%   | 44.23%   |   0.087 | 9.21%   | 42.15%   |   0.039 |
|-----------------------------------|----------|----------|---------|---------|----------|---------|
| Delhi                             | 4.44%    | 43.92%   |   0.02  | 3.43%   | 41.99%   |   0.014 |
| Jammu &Kashmir                    | 12.56%   | 44.17%   |   0.055 | 4.80%   | 42.11%   |   0.02  |
| Ladakh                            | 12.70%   | 40.37%   |   0.051 | 3.53%   | 41.20%   |   0.015 |
| Lakshadweep                       | 1.82%    | 35.80%   |   0.007 | 1.11%   | 36.47%   |   0.004 |
| Puducherry                        | 1.71%    | 38.55%   |   0.007 | 0.85%   | 38.03%   |   0.003 |

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