India’s extreme poverty rate has fallen dramatically, dropping from 27.1% in 2011-12 to just 5.3% in 2022-23. This major improvement means around 269 million people have moved out of extreme poverty during this 11-year period, according to the latest estimates released by the World Bank.

In 2011-12, about 344.47 million people in India lived in extreme poverty. That number dropped to 75.24 million in 2022-23. The World Bank’s assessment uses a poverty line of $3.00 per day, adjusted for 2021 prices, to define extreme poverty.

Five states, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, accounted for nearly two-thirds of India’s extreme poor in 2011-12. These same states also made up about two-thirds of the total reduction in poverty by 2022-23, showing significant progress in these areas.

The decline in extreme poverty is seen in both rural and urban areas. Rural extreme poverty fell from 18.4% to 2.8%, while urban extreme poverty dropped from 10.7% to 1.1% during this time.

Using an earlier, lower poverty line of $2.15 per day (based on 2017 prices), the extreme poverty rate was 2.3% in 2022, down from 16.2% in 2011-12. The number of people living below this line decreased from 205.93 million in 2011 to 33.66 million in 2022.

The World Bank also looked at the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which measures poverty beyond income, including factors like health, education, and living standards. The MPI was 53.8% in 2005-06, fell to 16.4% in 2019-21, and further dropped to 15.5% in 2022-23.

The report credits several government schemes for helping reduce poverty. These include the PM Awas Yojana (housing), PM Ujjwala Yojana (clean cooking fuel), Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion), and Ayushman Bharat (healthcare access).

Along with these, systems like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), expanding digital services, and rural infrastructure development have helped ensure benefits reach the people who need them most.

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