- Recently, the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report for 2019 has been released.
- According to the report, across India, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty has decreased from 690.55 million in 2005-06 to 369.55 million in 2015-16.
- Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh together accounted for 196 million MPI poor people
- Jharkhand reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9% to 46.5% between 2005-06 and 2015-16- the fastest in India.
- However, the MPI report has noted that India’s progress in health outcomes is poor. India has the second highest stunting rate among the middle-income countries in Asia, the first being Pakistan.
- Further, according to the report, the under-five mortality rate in India still stands at 43 per 1,000 live births.
- Further, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) show India in poor light, with India scoring the worst among all Asian nations in the middle-income group. As many as 18.8 persons per 1,000 people live in areas vulnerable to malaria in India. Further, In India, TB affects 211 people per 10,000 people exposed to the disease.
- The Global MPI Report is prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
- The criterion for someone to be declared as deprived as per MPI are as follows:(a)Education (year of schooling, child enrolment) (b)Health (child mortality, nutrition) and (c)Standard of living (electricity, drinking water, sanitation, flooring, cooking fuel, assets)
- A person is multidimensional poor if she/he is deprived in one third or more (means 33% or more) of the weighted indicators (out of the ten indicators).
