Bhubaneswar, Jan 16: At least 102.78 lakh people escaped multi-dimensional poverty in Odisha between 2013-14 and 2022-23, according to a discussion paper released by Niti Aayog on Monday.
Odisha comes seventh in the list of states that witnessed maximum number of people escaping multi-dimensional poverty after Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
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, showing a reduction of 17.89 percentage points.
As per the paper, the fastest reduction in the proportion of multi-dimensional poverty has been observed in five states including Odisha between FY16 and FY21. The other states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The national multi-dimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators. These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets and bank accounts.
As far as the headcount is concerned, the discussion paper has revealed the proportion of multi-dimensionally poor fell by 48 per cent in the last 15 years.
The paper stated the overall decline in the multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) value can be predominantly attributed to advances in nutrition, years of schooling, sanitation, and cooking fuel, although there remains room for further enhancement. The paper was written by Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand and its senior advisor Yogesh Suri.
