International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
While figures indicate that poverty is declining, questions remain about whether this translates into a better quality of life. Poverty is often understood as a lack of money, but the experience of living in poverty goes beyond income. Access to nutritious food, healthcare, education, safe housing, and reliable employment also determines whether a family can meet its basic needs. As India reports progress in reducing poverty, the methods used to measure it offer an insight into what has changed and what challenges remain.
According to a 2024 discussion paper by NITI Aayog, India’s multidimensional poverty rate was estimated to have declined from 29.17% in 2013–14 to 11.28% in 2022–23. The paper estimated that around 24.82 crore people had moved out of multidimensional poverty during this period. However, these figures are projections based on the rate of decline recorded in earlier survey periods, as data for the specific years were unavailable. While they indicate an improvement in several indicators of living standards, they do not mean that the same proportion of people has moved above the monetary poverty line. The two measures assess different aspects of poverty.
India's monetary poverty estimates are based on household consumption expenditure, while multidimensional poverty considers other aspects of living conditions as well.
The World Bank also uses international poverty lines to compare poverty across countries. In its October 2025 India Poverty and Equity Brief, the bank estimated that the proportion of India's population living below its lower-middle-income-country poverty line of $4.20 per person per day fell from 57.7% in 2011–12 to 23.9% in 2022–23. Using its extreme-poverty line of $3 per person per day, the estimate declined from 27.1% to 5.3% over the same period. These thresholds are expressed in 2021 purchasing power parity terms, which account for differences in the cost of living across countries, and are not direct rupee equivalents.
However, a monetary poverty line cannot capture every disadvantage a household may face. Two families with similar levels of consumption may have very different circumstances if one has access to healthcare, education and adequate sanitation while the other does not. India's National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed using the Alkire-Foster methodology, considers three broad dimensions: health, education and standard of living. These are assessed through 12 indicators, including nutrition, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, sanitation, drinking water, housing, electricity, cooking fuel, assets and bank accounts.
Although monetary and multidimensional measures help assess progress, neither provides a complete picture of financial security. A family may gain access to electricity, sanitation or a bank account and no longer meet the criteria for multidimensional poverty, yet continue to struggle with rent, rising food prices, medical bills or irregular wages. Similarly, crossing a monetary poverty threshold does not necessarily mean a household can withstand an unexpected expense. A medical emergency, loss of employment, or disruption to a family's income can push people who were managing their expenses back into financial difficulty.
For researchers and policymakers, measuring poverty is not only about counting how many people fall below a particular threshold. It is also about identifying the disadvantages people experience, understanding where they persist and determining whether improvements in living standards can be sustained. Looking at monetary poverty alongside health, education, housing, employment, and access to essential services can offer a broader understanding of progress. Data at the state and district levels can also help identify areas where deprivation persists and where support may be needed.
On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed on October 17, these distinctions serve as a reminder that poverty cannot be fully explained by a single figure. Declining poverty estimates are an important measure of progress, but understanding the lives behind the numbers is equally necessary. The larger question is whether people who move out of poverty can maintain that progress, meet their basic needs, and withstand financial shocks without falling back into deprivation. Measuring poverty accurately is an essential step towards understanding how much progress has been made and what remains to be done.
