Authors : Vinita Katiyar; Shishir Kumar Verma

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 4 - April

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26apr2042

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Poverty in India is not only an economic issue but also a social and structural phenomenon, making it complex and cyclical in nature. It is a major stumbling block in development of country. Poverty is a multidimensional issue that is not only related to insufficient income of people but also to health, education and standard of living. Multidimensional poverty is measured by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Like global MPI, India’s national MPI has three equally weighted dimensions – Health, Education, and Standard of living – which are represented by 12 indicators instead of 10. India's multidimensional poverty was notably high in 2005-06, with over half the population (55.34%) experiencing deprivations across health, education, and standard of living. It reduced to 24.85% in 2015-16. India has attained a significant reduction in its MPI value and Headcount Ratio between 2015-16 and 2019-21. While the country has made substantial progress in reducing poverty, the decline has not been uniform across all regions. Regional variations remain a significant challenge, with some states and regions experiencing much higher levels of multidimensional poverty than others. This paper highlights the regional variations and the factors that influence them. It also focuses the government policy and programmes aimed at reducing these variations and provides some policy recommendations for further reducing multidimensional poverty and regional variations in the MPI.

Keywords : Multidimensional Poverty, Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), Regional Variations, Government Policies.

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