Context:
With over 50% of the population in the State identified as “multidimensionally poor”, Bihar has the maximum percentage of population living in poverty among all the States and the Union Territories, according to Government think-tank NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
Relevance:
GS-II: Social Justice and Governance (Issues related to Poverty and Hunger)
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is multidimensional poverty?
- About the National Multidimensional Poverty Index
- National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report on Bihar
What is multidimensional poverty?
- Multidimensional poverty refers to the multiple deprivations that poor people face on a daily basis, such as poor health, a lack of education, insufficient living standards, disempowerment, low employment quality, the fear of violence, and living in ecologically hazardous places, to name a few.
- In order to formulate policies aiming at alleviating poverty and hardship in a nation, a multidimensional measure of poverty might include a variety of indicators that represent the complexity of this phenomenon.
About the National Multidimensional Poverty Index
- A national Multidimensional Poverty Index is a poverty metric that is adapted to each country’s specific circumstances.
- Niti Aayog, an Indian think tank, produces the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
- The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created rigorous methods for it.
National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report on Bihar
- In Bihar, 50% of the population was classified as “multidimensionally poor.”
- Among all the States and Union Territories, Bihar has the highest percentage of people living in poverty.
- Bihar has the highest poverty rate at 51.91 percent, followed by Jharkhand (42.16 percent), Uttar Pradesh (37.79 percent), Madhya Pradesh (36.65 percent), and Meghalaya (32.67 percent).
Report on Other States
- Kerala has the lowest rate of poverty (0.71 percent), followed by Puducherry (1.72 percent), Lakshadweep (1.82 percent), Goa (3.76 percent), and Sikkim (3.82 percent).
- Tamil Nadu (4.89 percent), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (4.30 percent), Delhi (4.79 percent), Punjab (5.59 percent), Himachal Pradesh (7.62 percent), and Mizoram (9.8%) are among the states and union territories where fewer than 10% of the population is impoverished.
-Source: The Hindu
