India has fought mass poverty since independence. Rather than income alone, the national Multidimensional Poverty Index — with technical inputs from Oxford's OPHI and the UNDP — measures deprivation across health, education and living standards, using 12 indicators from nutrition and schooling to cooking fuel, sanitation, electricity and bank accounts. It fell from an estimated 29.17% in 2013-14 to a projected 11.28% in 2022-23.
Poverty Reduction
Poverty Reduction
India's national Multidimensional Poverty Index — which measures deprivations in health, education and living standards across 12 indicators — fell from an estimated 29.17% in 2013-14 to a projected 11.28% in 2022-23. NITI Aayog estimates about 24.8 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty over those nine years, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan seeing the biggest declines. The counter shows the MPI headcount.
24.8 cr
Escaped multidim. poverty
9 years
2013-14 to 2022-23
5.3%
Extreme poverty, $3/day, 2022-23 (World Bank)
Multidimensional poverty (%)
| Year | MPI headcount |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 29.17 % |
| 2016 | 24.85 % |
| 2021 | 14.96 % |
| 2023 | 11.28 % |
| Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured. | |
2014
0.00%
MPI headcount
20142023
Since 2014
Reduced
−17.89 %
2014
29.17 %
2023
11.28 %
Dashed bars are years the source does not publish; the shape between published years is drawn, not measured.
Why it matters Poverty is more than income — it is whether a family has clean cooking fuel, a toilet, schooling and a bank account. This index tracks all of that together.
- MPI headcount 29.17% (2013-14, estimated) → 11.28% (2022-23, projected)
- ~24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty in 9 years
- UP (5.94 cr) and Bihar (3.77 cr) saw the largest declines
- Source: NITI Aayog, with technical inputs from OPHI and UNDP
History
24.8 crore lifted
NITI Aayog estimates that about 24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty over those nine years — a 17.89 percentage-point fall in the headcount. The sharpest declines were in Uttar Pradesh (5.94 crore), Bihar (3.77 crore), Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Schemes for cooking gas, toilets, tap water, housing, electricity and bank accounts each chipped away at a dimension of poverty.
How it works
India attacks poverty on two fronts at once. Direct support puts money and essentials in people's hands — free foodgrains for over 80 crore people, cash transfers, subsidised housing, cooking gas and health cover. Enablers then help families climb out for good — bank accounts, toilets, electricity, roads and jobs. Poverty is measured not just by income but 'multidimensionally' — counting health, education and living standards together.
Outlook
By the government's multidimensional measure, about 24.8 crore people escaped poverty between 2013-14 and 2022-23, and the World Bank puts India's extreme poverty at 5.3% in 2022-23 on its $3-a-day line (2.3% on the older $2.15 line). The next step is measuring it better and finishing the job — reaching the hardest-to-help households, making the escape permanent (not one shock away from falling back), and shifting from handouts toward stable, better-paying jobs.
By the numbers
MPI headcount 29.17% (2013-14) → 11.28% (2022-23); ~24.82 crore escaped; UP (5.94 cr) & Bihar (3.77 cr) led; 12 indicators. Source: NITI Aayog (technical inputs: OPHI, UNDP).
Data current to: 2022-23 projection (NITI Aayog, January 2024)
Source: NITI Aayog (technical inputs from OPHI and UNDP) — national Multidimensional Poverty Index headcount ratio (%). NITI Aayog discussion paper, January 2024: survey estimates of 24.85% (2015-16) and 14.96% (2019-21), an interpolated 29.17% for 2013-14 and a projected 11.28% for 2022-23; about 24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty over those nine years (linked). No yearly series exists, so the years between are left as gaps. · link