NITI Aayog releases National Multidimensional Poverty Index

Context

Recently, the Government think-tank NITI Aayog has released the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

About Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

• MPI captures multiple and simultaneous deprivations faced by households.
• This baseline report of India’s first-ever national MPI measure is based on the reference period of 2015-16 of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- 4.
• It uses the globally accepted and robust methodology developed by the 
  • Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) 
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Key-findings of the Index

• 51.91% of the population in Bihar is poor, followed by Jharkhand (42.16%), Uttar Pradesh (37.79%), Madhya Pradesh (36.65%) and Meghalaya (32.67%).
• Kerala registered lowest population poverty levels (0.71%), followed by Puducherry (1.72%), Lakshadweep (1.82%), Goa (3.76%) and Sikkim (3.82%).
• Other States and UTs where less than 10% of the population are poor include Tamil Nadu (4.89%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (4.30%), Delhi (4.79%), Punjab (5.59%), Himachal Pradesh (7.62%) and Mizoram (9.8%).