Lok Sabha Question No. 1186 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-30
Subject: Upliftment of BPL People
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1186 ANSWERED ON 30/07/2024

## UPLIFTMENT OF BPL PEOPLE

## 1186 SHRI BHAUSAHEB RAJARAM WAKCHAURE:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  set  any  target  to  uplift  all  the poor people living below thepoverty line in the next five years, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (b) the estimated number of people living below the poverty line in the country at presentparticularly in backward rural areas; and
- (c) the target regarding the number of such people to be brought above the poverty line alongwith updated status thereof, year-
- wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a):  It  is  a  continuous  endeavour of the Government is to uplift all poor people living below the poverty line through various schemes and  programmes. The  Ministry  of  Rural  Development(MoRD)  has adopted  multi-pronged  strategies  to  improve  the  economic  wellbeing of people in rural areas including backward rural areas with the main focus on increasing livelihood opportunities, empowering rural  women,  providing  social  safety  net  skilling  of  rural  youth, infrastructure  development  etc.  through  its  programmes.  In  this regard,  the  Government  is  implementing  a  number  of  targeted programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan MantriAwasYojana-

O.I.H.

Gramin(PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri  Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY), DeendayalAntyodayaYojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission (DAY NRLM), DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDUGKY),  Rural  Self  Employment  Training  Institutes  (RSETIs),National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and Watershed Development Component  (WDC)  of  the  Pradhan  MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana (WDC-PMKSY).

(b) & (c): Following the 2002 BPL (Below Poverty Line) Survey, MoRD recognized  the  multifaceted  nature  of  poverty  and  conducted  the Socio-Economic & Caste Census (SECC) 2011 in collaboration with States/UTs.  This  census  provides  comprehensive  data  on  various socio-economic  aspects  of  households,  including  housing,  land ownership, educational status, gender status, disability, occupation, asset ownership, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) classification, and income.

In  SECC  2011,  rural  households  were  categorized  into  three groups: (i) "automatically excluded households," (ii) "automatically included households," and (iii) "deprived households," based on the collected data.

The  SECC  process  was  concluded  by  the  Ministry  of  Rural Development in March 2016. The findings are publicly available on the  SECC  website  (www.secc.gov.in).  The  SECC  data  reflect  the socio-economic  status  of  17.97  crore  rural  households,  leading  to the  automatic  exclusion  of  7.07  crore  (39.34%)  households  from poverty  based  on  13  parameters.  Additionally,  0.16  crore  (0.89%) households were automatically included as the poorest of the poor based on 5 parameters, and 8.72 crore (48.53%)  households  were assessed for deprivation across seven criteria.

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.  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  (MoSPI) and the technical partners -United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP)  and  Oxford  Poverty  and  Human  Development Initiative (OPHI). As a result, a comprehensive National Multidimensional Poverty Index (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  the report 'National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress  Review  2023',  the  proportion  of  individuals  who  are multidimensionally  poor  declined  from  24.85%  to  14.96%  between 2015-16  and  2019-21,  resulting  in  13.5  crore  individuals  escaping multidimensional poverty during this period.  The report is available in the public domain and can be accessed at the following website:

https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-08/India-NationalMultidimentional-Poverty-Index-2023.pdf

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