What is the most significant achievement of India? Not India’s economy. It is How India pulled 41.5 crores of people out of poverty in just 15 years.
Between 2005 and 2020, in 15 years, India pulled around 41.5 crores people out of poverty, more than the population of 3rd most populous country, the United States or more than the combined population of our immediate neighbors, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh still have the highest number of poor people. But these states are reducing poverty at a much faster rate than the national average. Poverty in Bihar decreased from 77% in 2005 to 35% in 2020.
Basic human needs like drinking water, housing and school have also increased significantly. In 2005, 50% population below multi-dimensional poverty had no access to sanitation, 45% had no access to housing, 16% had no access to safe drinking water, and 24% had no access to schooling.
In 2020, numbers dropped to 11.3% in the case of sanitation facilities, 13.6% in the case of housing, 2.7% in the case of water and 7.7% in the case of schooling.
Though India still has a lot to go, according to the UN Development Program, India is well in place to reduce poverty by half by 2030.
Can India achieve this by 2030? Tell us in the comments!
Source: Times of India and UNDP Oxford Poverty report.
