Multidimensional poverty in India has fallen sharply — NITI Aayog estimates 24.82 crore people escaped poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23 — but the bottom states still lag. Examine the Alkire-Foster method and the policy implications.
Subtopic: Indian Society · Poverty and Developmental Issues
How to structure your answer
Introduction: The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster at OPHI (2010), measures poverty as overlapping deprivation in health, education and living standards.
Body — three dimensions: (1) Method — 12 indicators across 3 dimensions; a household is multidimensionally poor if deprived in at least one-third weighted indicators; NITI Aayog's National MPI uses NFHS data. (2) Progress — national MPI head-count ratio fell from 29.17% (2013-14) to 11.28% (2022-23); 24.82 crore lifted out (NITI Aayog Discussion Paper, January 2024). (3) Persistence — Bihar 33.76%, Jharkhand 28.81%, Meghalaya 27.79% still poor; nutrition (33% deprivation) and maternal health (22%) the slowest indicators.
Conclusion: The MPI moves with PMAY, Jal Jeevan, Ujjwala, Saubhagya — but anaemia, nutrition and antenatal care need targeted convergence, especially in EAG states.
Written within the word limit
219 words · target 250 words · 14 min
Introduction:
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (2010), measures poverty as overlapping deprivation in health, education and living standards rather than income alone. NITI Aayog estimates 24.82 crore Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013–14 and 2022–23.
Method: The National MPI uses 12 indicators across three dimensions, drawing on NFHS data. A household is multidimensionally poor if deprived in at least one-third of weighted indicators — the Alkire-Foster cut-off. Headcount ratio is then multiplied by intensity to produce the MPI value, allowing decomposition by indicator, district and state.
Progress: The national MPI headcount fell from 29.17% (2013–14) to 11.28% (2022–23), per the NITI Aayog Discussion Paper of January 2024. Gains are driven by PMAY-G (housing), Jal Jeevan Mission (drinking water), Ujjwala (cooking fuel) and Saubhagya (electricity), each addressing a specific MPI indicator. The Global MPI 2023 (UNDP-OPHI) places India's headcount at 16.4%.
Persistence: Bihar (33.76%), Jharkhand (28.81%) and Meghalaya (27.79%) remain bottom-three. Nutrition (33% deprivation) and maternal health (22%) are the slowest-moving indicators — reflecting why NFHS-5 still records child stunting at 35.5% and child anaemia at a worsened 67.1%. The Tendulkar (21.9%, 2011-12) and Rangarajan (29.5%) income-poverty estimates predate this MPI revolution.
Conclusion:
The MPI moves with infrastructure schemes but stalls on nutrition and maternal care — district-level convergence of POSHAN 2.0, Jal Shakti Mission and the National Health Mission across EAG states is the next frontier of poverty reduction.
What an examiner expects to see
- MPI developed by Alkire-Foster, OPHI (2010)
- 12 indicators across health, education, living standards
- Deprivation cut-off — 33.3% weighted indicators
- National MPI 29.17% (2013-14) → 11.28% (2022-23, NITI Aayog Jan 2024)
- 24.82 crore escaped multidimensional poverty in nine years
- Bihar 33.76%, Jharkhand 28.81%, Meghalaya 27.79% — bottom three
- Nutrition deprivation 33%, maternal health 22%
- Global MPI 2023 — India 16.4%, 23 crore poor (UNDP-OPHI)
- Tendulkar (2011-12) — 21.9% income poor; Rangarajan — 29.5%
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- PMAY-G — pucca housing addressing one MPI indicator
- Jal Jeevan Mission — drinking water indicator
- Ujjwala Yojana — cooking fuel indicator
- Saubhagya — electricity indicator
- POSHAN 2.0 — nutrition indicator