Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: IN one of the most remarkable achievements of the past decade, India has lifted 171 million people out of extreme poverty, according to the World Bank’s Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief.
The report highlights that the proportion of Indians living on less than $2.15 a day—the international benchmark for extreme poverty—fell sharply from 16.2 per cent in 2011-12 to just 2.3 per cent in 2022-23, according to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
This achievement stands as a testament to the Government of India’s commitment to inclusive development, with focused efforts in both rural and urban areas. Through targeted welfare schemes, economic reforms, and enhanced access to essential services, India has made substantial progress in reducing poverty levels. The World Bank’s brief emphasises how these initiatives have significantly impacted millions, helping to narrow the poverty gap across the country.
The report finds that the reduction in extreme poverty in India has been broad-based, covering both rural and urban areas. In rural regions, extreme poverty fell from 18.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.8 per cent in 2022-23. Urban centres witnessed a decline from 10.7 per cent to 1.1 per cent over the same period. Moreover, the rural-urban poverty gap shrank from 7.7 percentage points to just 1.7 percentage points, reflecting an annual decline rate of 16 percent between 2011-12 and 2022-23.
India has also made strong gains at the lower-middle-income poverty line, measured at $3. per day. The poverty rate at this level fell from 61.8 percent in 2011-12 to 28.1 per cent in 2022-23, lifting 378 million people out of poverty.
Rural poverty at this threshold declined from 69 per cent to 32.5 per cent, while urban poverty dropped from 43.5 per cent to 17.2 per cent. The rural-urban gap narrowed significantly from 25 percentage points to 15 percentage points, with a 7 per cent annual decline between 2011- 12 and 2022-23.
Key states have played a major role in this success. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, which together accounted for 65 percent of India’s extreme poor in 2011- 12, contributed to two-thirds of the overall decline in extreme poverty by 2022-23.
Alongside monetary poverty reduction, India has seen notable improvements in reducing nonmonetary poverty. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which includes factors like education, health, and living conditions, shows that poverty declined from 53.8 per cent in 2005-06 to 16.4 percent by 2019-21. According to the World Bank’s Multidimensional Poverty Measure, this figure stood at 15.5 per cent in 2022-23, reflecting ongoing improvements in living standards.
