India’s Poverty Reduced At It Fastest Ever Rate From 27 Crore In 2011 To 8.4 Crore In 2017

As per a research by Tendulkar Poverty line, poverty in India has declined from 27 crore in 2011 to 8.4 crore in 2017, reports New Indian Express.

The findings have been published in a joint paper titled Poverty, Inequality and Inclusive Growth in India: 2011/12-2017/18 authored by noted Indian economist Surjit S Bhalla - currently Executive Director for India at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), former chief economic adviser Arvind Virmani and economics researcher Karan Bhasin.

The paper has been presented to the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

In 2011, 14.9 per cent of the Indian population lived in poverty. The number has since then come down to 7 per cent in 2017.

Additionally, the World Bank now classifies India as a lower middle-income country and added that poverty in the country has declined at its fastest ever rate from 58 per cent in 2011-12 to 37 per cent in 2017-18.

The reduction in poverty has been attributed to high growth rate and government schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA), Direct Benefit Transfers, PM Kisan Yojana and LPG subsidy.

"All these estimates reveal that poverty in India was in single digits as per the Tendulkar poverty line and that India experienced one of the fastest paces of poverty reduction between 2011-2017," the authors noted.

The paper also points out that asset transfers in the form of houses, toilets etc. from 2014 played a major role in reducing poverty.