Multidimensional Poverty Index

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index is a measure of multidimensional poverty covering 107 developing countries.
It was first developed in 2010 by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for UNDP’s Human Development Reports.
Global MPI uses three dimensions and ten indicators.
All indicators are equally weighted within each dimension.
The MPI ranges from 0 to 1, and higher values imply higher poverty.
Global MPI complements the international $2.15 a day poverty rate devised by World Bank.

For India, GMPI uses the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data.
NFHS is conducted under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).

NITI Aayog is the nodal agency responsible for monitoring mechanism of the Global MPI in India.
As the Nodal agency for the MPI, NITI Aayog has constituted a Multidimensional Poverty Index Coordination Committee (MPICC).

1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion (~18%) live in acute multidimensional poverty across 110 countries.
25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years.

Deprivation in all indicators declined in India.
People who are multidimensionally poor and deprived under the nutrition indicator in India declined from 44.3% in 2005-06 to 11.8% in 2019-21.
A total of 415 million people moved out of poverty in India within 15 years (2005-06 to 2019-21).

It is published by NITI Aayog using the methodology in consonance with the global methodology.
Like the global MPI, India’s national MPI has three equally weighted dimensions – Health, Education, and Standard of living – represented by twelve indicators.
The national MPI model retains the ten indicators of the global MPI model.
It also adds two indicators, viz., Maternal Health and Bank Accounts, in line with national priorities.

It is the second edition of the National MPI.
It is prepared based on the latest National Family Heath Survey of 2019-21.
It represents India’s progress in reducing multidimensional poverty between the two surveys, NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21).

Nearly 13.5 crore people came out of multidimensional poverty in five years.
Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor, with 3.43 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty.
India registered a steep decline in the number of multidimensionally poor from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
Between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the MPI value has nearly halved from 0.117 to 0.066 and the intensity of poverty has reduced from 47% to 44%.
India is on the path of achieving the SDG Target 1.2 (of reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half) much ahead of the stipulated timeline of 2030.

The most rapid reduction in the proportion of multidimensionally poor individuals occurred in districts located within the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Poverty is calculated based either on income levels or on expenditure levels.

The international poverty line (set by World Bank), which is currently $2.15 per person per day, is the threshold that determines whether someone is living in poverty.
India has not declared its poverty figures since 2011, measured based on consumer expenditure surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).

Initiatives like Poshan Abhiyan and Anemia Mukt Bharat have significantly enhanced access to healthcare facilities, leading to a substantial decrease in deprivation.
The Targeted Public Distribution System (National Food Security Act), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana provides conncessional food grains to rural and urban populations.
Clean cooking fuel distribution through Ujjwala Yojana.
Improved electricity coverage via Saubhagya.
Transformative campaigns like Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and PM Awas Yojana have played pivotal roles in financial inclusion and providing safe housing for the underprivileged.