Extreme Poverty In India Declines 12.3% In Last Decade: World Bank Report

Extreme poverty in India declines by 12.30% in the last decade, from 2011 to 2019, a recent World Bank report has informed recently. Additionally, the poverty headcount rate has also declined from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019. In rural India, the areas, the poverty headcount rate has declined significantly compared to urban India. "Rural and urban poverty dropped by 14.7% and 7.9% points during 2011-2019," the World Bank working paper has also informed. However, some analysts expected a healthier decline in the poverty rate.

The paper added, "Real incomes for farmers with the smallest landholdings have grown by 10% in annualized terms between the two survey rounds [2013 and 2019] compared to a 2% growth for farmers with the largest landholding." With a struggling agriculture sector in the country, this data is promising. The paper stated that the country has almost decimated extreme poverty and brought down consumption inequality to its lowest levels in 40 years. The state-funded food distributions have contributed largely to this improvement. Additionally, a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has stated that less than 1% population in the country is living in extreme poverty.

The paper is authored by economists Sutirtha Sinha Roy and Roy van der Weide.