Govt developing a national indicator to measure extreme poverty

Govt developing national indicator for extreme poverty

The government is developing a national indicator to measure extreme poverty, it said  in a report released on 29 June 2024.

The Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework progress report released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation highlighted that at present, there is no indicator to measure the progress achieved in eradicating extreme poverty. The government classifies anyone living on less than $1.25 per day as living in extreme poverty.

The first sustainable development goal (SDG) is to end all forms of poverty everywhere.

The National Indicator Framework tracked 290 indicators (up from 284 last year) across 17 SDGs. A Moneycontrol analysis shows that the government has done well across most goals.

Regarding social security coverage, the report indicated that coverage of the national pension scheme had increased to 18 million in FY24 from 17.3 million in the previous year.

However, the proportion of the population (out of the total eligible population) receiving social protection benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) declined to 46.3 percent from 80 percent in the previous year.

The data shows an improvement in the maternal mortality rate, which declined below 100 for 100,000 live births in 2018-20. The mortality rate for children under five declined to 32 per 1,000 live births in 2020 from 43 five years ago in 2015.

The government has made progress in treating de-addiction as well. The number of persons treated in de-addiction centres doubled in 2023-24 compared with 2021-22.

Even with the increasing gross enrolment ratio in schools, there was some reversal in learning outcomes as the percentage of students in grades 3, 5, and 8 achieving at least minimum proficiency declined in 2021 compared with 2017. For grade 3, language proficiency declined to 39 percent from 48.3 percent; for grade 8, the decline was 4 percentage points to

Gains were also made in 2023-24 in the availability of potable water and renewable energy capacity. However, the country lagged in renewable energy generation, slipping to 20.7 percent in 2023-24 from 21.2 percent in 2019-20.