Why in the news
A paper by Himanshu (JNU), Peter Lanjouw and Philipp Schirmer (Vrije University, Amsterdam) says poverty reduction lost pace after 2011-12.
Trend
| Year | Poverty |
|---|
| 2004-05 | 37% |
| 2011-12 | 22% |
| 2022-23 | 18% |
- Number of poor: only 250 million to 225 million.
Methods
- Alternative NSSO extrapolations (UMPCE): 26-30% in 2019-20.
- PFCE scaling (Surjit Bhalla and others, 2022).
- Survey-to-survey imputation: the approach of this paper, the World Bank and CMIE studies.
States
- Uttar Pradesh: strong progress.
- Jharkhand, Bihar: slow.
- Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh: stagnant.
Indicators
| Measure | 2004-12 | 2012-23 |
|---|
| GDP growth | 6.9% | 5.7% |
| Real rural wage growth | 4.13% | 2.3% |
- 68 million workers shifted into agriculture after 2017-18, a sign of weak productivity and wages.
Policy
- Transparent data is essential; urgent action needed.
Exam angle
- Last official poverty year: 2011-12.