Govt policy efforts helped lower poverty: Nirmala Sitharaman

Extreme poverty, measured by the $3 per day threshold, declined from 27.1% to 2.6% during this period. Poverty in India is projected to continue declining but at a more gradual pace, with the poverty rate at the Lower Middle-Income Country line of $4.20 per day expected to fall from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028, the World Bank said in a report earlier in October. “Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi, the Government’s sustained policy efforts are yielding tangible results, strengthening the foundations for inclusive growth and greater economic opportunity.

This is the reason why NDA govt wins people’s trust and mandate of our citizens,” Sitharaman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “We remain committed to building on this progress through productive employment, stronger household incomes and effective delivery of public services, so that aspirations of our people are met,” the finance minister said. Employment increased by 134 million people between 2017 and 2023, nearly twice the increase in the working-age population, the World Bank said in its October 2026 Poverty & Equity Brief.

The rise in employment was led by rural women entering paid work and increasing the number of earners in their households, the World Bank said. “The World Bank identifies strong consumption growth, rising employment - especially among women—and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies, as major drivers,” Sitharaman said. Poverty in India has declined even when measured by non-monetary dimensions, the World Bank said.

The World Bank's multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for India was 15.5% in 2022-23, compared with Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) Global Multidimensional Poverty Index of 53.8% in 2005-06 and 16.4% in 2019-21. “As poverty declined, it became increasingly concentrated among households with lower education, fewer assets, limited access to stable employment, and higher dependency ratios,” the World Bank said.

“Wage disparities, however, remain pronounced, as median earnings among the top 10 percent of workers were about 13 times those of the bottom 10 percent in 2023,” the report said.