World Bank Poverty Report

Context

Recently, the World Bank has released the report titled Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022: Correcting Course.

Key- Highlights

•  Slowing poverty reduction rate: The rate of poverty reduction was slowing since 2015 but the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine has reversed the outcomes.
• • Poverty reduction has slowed because of subdued global economic growth. 
  • At this rate, the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 would not be achieved.
• Increase in extreme poverty: The number of people living below the extreme poverty line rose by over 70 million in 2020. 
  • This was the largest one-year increase since the start of monitoring of global poverty in 1990.
• Inequality: The income losses of the poorest 40 percent averaged 4 per cent. It was double the losses of the wealthiest 20 percent. This resulted in the rise of global inequality.
• Decline in median income: The global median income has declined by 4 per cent in 2020. 
  • This was the first decline since measurements of median income began in 1990.
• Learning poverty: Simulations suggest that poverty due to the learning losses will exceed the economic poverty shock for many countries.
• Food inflation: High food price inflation can have detrimental impacts on poorer households, which spend a larger share of their income on food.
  • However, for many poor rural households engaged in agriculture, higher food prices can be a source of income growth.

Poverty Estimation in India

• Individuals or households that fall below a minimum level are designated to be Below the Poverty Line and are considered poor.
• The Poverty Line calculation in India is now carried out by the NITI Aayog based on the data collected by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).