65 Million From Scheduled Tribes Subjected To Multi-Dimensional Poverty: UN Report

The latest report on the multidimensional poverty index revealed that the Scheduled Tribes comprise 9.4 per cent of the total population and are the poorest in the country. A total of 129 million people live in multidimensional poverty in the nation, and a whopping 65 million of them belong to the scheduled tribes. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative released the global multidimensional poverty report. The Scheduled Caste (SC) followed the ST group with 94 million out 283 million, about 33 per cent living under multidimensional poverty conditions.

Similarity In OBC Group

According to The New Indian Express, the report further mentioned that 27.2 per cent of people from the other backward classes (OBC), which accounted for 160 million of the total OBC population of 588 million residing in India, fell under the poverty category. The OBC group showed a lower incidence but a similar intensity compared with the Scheduled Caste group. The newspaper further mentioned, "Overall, five out of six multidimensionally poor people in India live in households whose head is from a Scheduled Tribe, a Scheduled Caste or Other Backward Class".

500 Million From Seven Countries

Excluding women from education has a far-reaching impact on societies worldwide. Globally 1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty, and almost two-thirds at 836 million live in a household in which no female has completed at least six years of schooling. A maximum of the 836 poor belonged to the Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asian region. Seven countries accounted for more than 500 million, which included India (227 million), Pakistan (71 million), Ethiopia (59 million), Nigeria (54 million), China (32 million), Bangladesh (30 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (27 million).

India is amongst the top five countries concerning the highest population of people under multidimensional poverty. The report mentioned that nearly half of the poor population comprises families that have at least one woman. However, in India, close to 12 per cent of the population lives in female-headed households. Achim Steiner, the UNDP Administrator, said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has eroded development progress around the world, and we are still grappling to understand its full impacts".

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