According to a recent World Bank report, India has made significant progress in reducing severe poverty over the last decade. The percentage of Indians living in extreme poverty has decreased from 27.1% in 2011-12 to 5.3% in 2022-23, highlighting the country’s tremendous achievement in poverty reduction initiatives.
This considerable improvement aligns with the PM Modi government’s emphasis on inclusive growth and social welfare measures.
The World Bank revised its poverty line to $3 per day, incorporating inflation increases between 2017 and 2021. According to this new criterion, India’s poverty rate is now 5.3%. The paper emphasises the importance of government actions, particularly free and subsidised food transfers, in narrowing the rural-urban poverty divide.
Rural areas declined from 18.4% to 2.8%, while urban regions fell from 10.7% to 1.1%. This represents tremendous progress in decreasing the gap between rural and urban populations.
Despite global economic uncertainty, India’s economy has proven resilient. According to the analysis, real GDP will be around 5% lower than before the pandemic in 2024-25, but it might reach its potential growth by 2027-28 if global risks are successfully handled.
