India's social protection coverage jumps from 22% to 64.3% in 9 years: SDG 2025 Report

Though India’s national metric for this is under the process of being finalised, recent World Bank data shows that extreme poverty in India declined dramatically—5.3% in 2022-23 from previous 27.1% in 2011-12.

India has made significant strides in expanding its social protection coverage, with the proportion of the population benefiting from such systems rising from just 22% in 2016 to 64.3% in 2025, a Times of India report said on Monday. This remarkable growth underscores the country’s broader efforts to strengthen its social security framework, according to new data released by the Ministry of Statistics.

The figures are part of the ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2025’, which offers data-backed insights into India’s performance on the global SDG targets. Released on the occasion of Statistics Day, the report is intended to help policymakers pinpoint critical focus areas needing targeted interventions.

As per the TOI report, one of the key highlights from the report is the marked decline in multidimensional poverty. The percentage of people—including men, women, and children—living in poverty by national definitions dropped from 24.85% in 2015-16 to 14.96% in the 2019-21 period. This corresponds to SDG Goal 1: No Poverty, which aims to eliminate all forms of poverty worldwide. Globally, the goal is tracked via seven targets, and at the national level, India has identified 13 relevant indicators to monitor progress—such as coverage of social protection, access to essential services, and institutional support for senior citizens. The report provides updated data on each of these.

A specific target under SDG 1 seeks to end extreme poverty—currently defined as individuals living on less than $1.25 per day—by the year 2030. Though India’s national metric for this is under the process of being finalised, recent World Bank data shows that extreme poverty in India declined dramatically—5.3% in 2022-23 from previous 27.1% in 2011-12. During the same period, the number of individuals living in extreme poverty fell from 344.47 million to 75.24 million. This translates to almost 269 million people taken out of extreme poverty trap.

In addition to this, the World Bank also revised the international poverty thresholds: from $2.15 to $3 per person per day for low-income countries, and from $3.65 to $4.20 per day for lower-middle-income countries.

The report also uses the latest household consumption expenditure data to highlight a clear trend towards more equitable spending and reduced income inequality across both urban and rural areas.

Other key metrics include access to safe drinking water in rural regions, which rose from 94.57% in 2015-16 to 99.62% in 2024-25—reflecting major strides toward universal access to clean water. In agriculture, the gross value added per worker has increased from ₹61,247 in 2015-16 to ₹94,110 in 2024-25, signaling enhanced productivity and earnings for agricultural workers.

Connectivity in digital sphere has also gone up, with the total number of internet subscribers growing from 302.36 million in 2015 to staggering 954.40 million in 2024. In parallel, India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has flourished, with startups recognised under the ‘Startup India’ initiative rising sharply to 34,293 in 2024 from earlier 453 in 2016.

The SDG progress report is a critical tool for policy-making. While many sectors have shown significant progress, the report acknowledges that several challenges require much concentrated efforts.

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 through the resolution titled ‘Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. The framework came into effect on January 1, 2016, and includes 17 overarching goals with 169 specific targets.