Context:

• India’s Multidimensional Poverty (MDP) has dropped significantly, largely as a result of the performance of five key southern States (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.)
• Between 2005-06 to 2015-16, poverty level came down from 55% to 21%, improving the country’s MDP ranking.
• Following the drop-in poverty levels, India moved to the 26th rank from its earlier 54, in a decade, among 102 developing countries with MDP.

Facts & Figures:

• While the national average is 21%, in the five southern States (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) the average MDP is 9%. However, poverty levels have dropped in all States.
• Kerala has an MDP of 1%, Tamil Nadu (6%), Karnataka (11%), Telangana (14%) and Andhra Pradesh (13%) are also significantly low.
• Bihar is the poorest State with 43% incidence of poverty.
• Jharkhand (36%), Uttar Pradesh (31%), Rajasthan (31%) and Odisha (29%) are also above the national average (21%),
• Of 640 districts, 31 districts — all in eastern or central India — have over 50% MDP.
• The top five districts with the largest prevalence of MDP are in Shravasti, Baharaich and Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh, and Alirajpur and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh.
• Chhattisgarh, which is affected by Left Wing insurgency, has done well, bringing down its poverty level from 71% to 22%.

Multidimensional Poverty (MDP)

• MDP is “an international measure of acute poverty” based on three key categories-
  (a) Health
  (b) Education and
  (c) Living standards

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

• MPI was developed in 2010 by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme.
• It replaced the previous Human Poverty Index.
• The global MPI is released annually by OPHI and the results published on its website.
• The index uses the same three dimensions as the Human Development Index: health, education, and standard of living.

Source:TH