India is still labelled a poor country abroad, but this picture is soon going to change. The World Bank has estimated that the poverty rate in India could decrease by the year 2028.
India's poverty rate will soon decrease.
There was a time when poverty in India was a major challenge for the country. Foreign tourists would come and take home images of poverty. However, over time, many things changed, and in the last decade, India has transformed this image of poverty. Poverty in India has declined rapidly over the past decade. And now, it is estimated that the future will see even greater reductions.
In fact, according to the World Bank's October 2026 estimate, the number of people in the country spending less than $4.2, or approximately Rs 370, per day has decreased. This rate could decline from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028.
What did the report reveal?
According to a World Bank report, in 2011, 57.7% of India's population was below the poverty line set for low-income countries. This figure dropped to 16.1% in 2023. During this decade, approximately 496 million people have been lifted out of poverty. This suggests that poverty in the country is rapidly receding.
Extreme poverty has also declined in 12 years.
According to the World Bank, in 2011, 27.1% of India's population lived in extreme poverty. This figure is projected to decline to 2.6% by 2023. This report is based on the international poverty line of $3 per day. However, if poverty is measured against higher income thresholds, the picture looks different.
According to the report, nearly 80% of India's population lived below the poverty threshold of $8.3 per day in 2023. This suggests significant poverty reduction, but the income and spending power of a large population remains limited.
The World Bank has also revealed the reasons for the decline in poverty
in its report. According to the report, there are several reasons behind the decline in poverty. These include increased spending power, increased employment opportunities, and financial assistance through government schemes.
Crores of people gained employment.
According to this report, approximately 134 million people in India gained employment between 2017 and 2023. This number is nearly double the previous figure for the same period. Rural women played a major role in this. Many women, previously confined to the home, are now engaged in income-generating activities. This has increased the number of earning members in the family and helped meet household expenses.
The bank also stated that the improvement in poverty figures may not be due solely to changes in people's lifestyles. Changes in the methods of collecting data and measuring poverty may also have had an impact. It should be noted that this survey did not fully account for the expenditures of wealthy families, otherwise, the gap between rich and poor in society may appear smaller than it is.
