Skip to content
Free updates Login
SSCBankingUPSC & State PSCNABARD / RBI

Poverty Line Debate: World Bank’s $3-a-Day Estimate for India

27 June 20251 min read
ECONOMYPoverty LineDebate: WorldBank’s $3-a-DayEstimate for India27 June 2025safalsetu.com

Why in the news

The World Bank’s revised $3-a-day line at 2021 PPP reopened the debate on how India measures poverty.

Key facts

Measure2011-122022-23
Extreme poverty share27%5.75%
People below $3/day (about ₹62)34.4 crore7.5 crore

India’s domestic line

  • Last revised in 2011-12 on the Tendulkar Committee basis.
  • The Rangarajan Committee proposed ₹47 (urban) and ₹33 (rural) a day, never adopted.
  • India relies on World Bank data or NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (non-monetary indicators).

Two readings

  • Optimistic: abject poverty at 5.75% is a major success.
  • Cautious: over 82% live below ₹171 a day ($8.3 PPP line); free food reaches one-third of people under the NFSA.

Concerns

  • Definitions shape the story; PPP may miss real deprivation.
  • No updated domestic line risks misrepresenting poverty; better data needed.

Exam angle

  • Tendulkar (2011-12 line), Rangarajan (proposal), MPI (NITI Aayog).

Test yourself

1. According to the World Bank's $3-a-day estimate, what share of Indians lived in extreme poverty in 2022-23?

The estimate is 5.75%, down from 27% in 2011-12.

2. India's official poverty line, last revised in 2011-12, was based on the recommendations of which committee?

The 2011-12 revision followed the Tendulkar Committee.

3. Which index from NITI Aayog uses non-monetary indicators to measure poverty?

NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index uses non-monetary indicators.

This topic is part of Daily Current Affairs 27 June 2025 (15 topics).

All topics of the dayDay quizJune 2025

Read more