UN Hails India's 'Historic Change' As Number Of Poor People Went Down By Nearly 415 Million In 2005-06 & 2019-21

The total number of poor people across India went down by approximately 415 million during 2005-06 and 2019-21, which is a historical change and a demonstration that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of bringing down at least 50 per cent of the proportion of male, female and children of all ages living in poverty come 2030 is also possible to achieve, even at a large scale, as per the United Nations (UN).

India's Landmark Achievement Against Poverty

On October 17, the new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the University of Oxford said that in India, which revealed that nearly 415 million people exited poverty during 2005-06 and 2019-21, reported News18.

This landmark feat also demonstrates that the "Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2 of reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions by 2030 is possible to achieve and at scale", it said.

Meanwhile, the UN, in an official release, stated that when it comes to India, nearly 415 million people left multidimensional poverty in 15 years — a historic change.

A Statistical Look

"India is an important case study for the Sustainable Development Goals, the first of which is to end poverty in all its forms and to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions by 2030, all while leaving no one behind," it said.

The report also revealed that based on India's 2020 population data, it has by far the most significant number of poor people worldwide (228.9 million), with Nigeria (96.7 million projected in 2020) close second.

Despite the progress, the population in the country remains vulnerable to the mounting consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and rising energy and food prices. It also emphasised that integrated policies to takedown the ongoing nutritional and energy crises should be the priority. Amid the tremendous gains, the ongoing task of putting an end to poverty for the 228.9 million poor people in 2019-2021 is daunting, with the number certainly rising since the data was initially collected.

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