Odisha Among Top 5 States In Reducing Poverty; 102.78 Lakh People Exited In 9 Years

Bhubaneswar: A total of 102.78 lakh people in Odisha moved out of multidimensional poverty bracket in the last nine years, according to a discussion paper released by NITI Aayog.

Odisha was among five states that recorded the sharpest decline in the number of people classified as poor based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which considers twelve different indicators of poverty included under three broad dimensions, namely health, education, and standard of living.

The other states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Odisha saw a significant decline from 34.28 per cent share of MPI poor in 2013-14 to 11.07 per cent in 2022-23. While 15.68 per cent of people in the state were multi-dimensionally poor in 2019-21, the percentage was 29.34 in 2015-16 and a whopping 63.84 in 2005-06.

As far as the headcount is concerned, the discussion paper revealed the proportion of multi-dimensionally poor fell by 52.77 per cent in the last 18 years.

According to the report, India’s population living in multidimensional poverty is estimated to have fallen to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23 from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14. The paper gave credit for this achievement to the initiatives of the government to address all dimensions of poverty between 2013-14 to 2022-23. “The government of India has made remarkable progress in improving the lives of people, aiming to reduce poverty in all dimensions. Noteworthy initiatives like Poshan Abhiyan and Anemia Mukt Bharat have significantly enhanced access to healthcare facilities, leading to a substantial decrease in deprivation,” it said.

“Operating one of the world’s largest food security programme, the Targeted Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Act covers 81.35 crore beneficiaries, providing food grains to rural and urban populations. Recent decisions, such as extending free food grain distribution under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for another five years, exemplify the government’s commitment,” it added.