Poverty in India
Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day (PPP, in nominal terms 
21.6 a day in urban areas and 14.3 in rural areas). According to a new UN Millennium Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four years, while India's poverty rate is projected to drop to 22% in 2015.The report also indicates that in Southern Asia, however, only India, where the poverty rate is projected to fall from 51% in 1990 to about 22% in 2015, is on track to cut poverty in half by the 2015 target date.
21.6 a day in urban areas and 14.3 in rural areas). According to a new UN Millennium Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four years, while India's poverty rate is projected to drop to 22% in 2015.The report also indicates that in Southern Asia, however, only India, where the poverty rate is projected to fall from 51% in 1990 to about 22% in 2015, is on track to cut poverty in half by the 2015 target date.The 2011 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report ranked India 15th, amongst leading countries with hunger situation. It also places India amongst the three countries where the GHI between 1996 and 2011 went up from 22.9 to 23.7, while 78 out of the 81 developing countries studied, including Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Malawi, succeeded in improving hunger condition.
Poverty estimates
There has been no uniform measure of poverty in India. The Planning Commission of India has accepted the Tendulkar Committee report which says that 37% of people in India live below thepoverty line.
The Arjun Sengupta Report (from National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector) states that 77% of Indians live on less than 20 a day (about $0.50 per day).] The N.C. SaxenaCommittee report states that 50% of Indians live below the poverty line.
20 a day (about $0.50 per day).] The N.C. SaxenaCommittee report states that 50% of Indians live below the poverty line.A study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative using a Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that there were 645 million poor living under the MPI in India, 421 million of whom are concentrated in eight North Indian and East Indian states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations. The states are listed below in increasing order of poverty based on the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index.
| MPI rank | States | Population (in millions) 2007 | MPI | Proportion of poor | Average intensity | Contribution to overall poverty | Number of MPI poor (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | India | 1,164.7 | 0.296 | 55.4% | 53.5% | - | 645.0 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 57.3 | 0.205 | 41.5% | 49.2% | 3.4% | 23.8 |
| 8 | Haryana | 24.1 | 0.199 | 41.6% | 47.9% | 1.3% | 10.0 |
| 7 | Maharashtra | 108.7 | 0.193 | 40.1% | 48.1% | 6.0% | 43.6 |
| 6 | Uttarakhand | 9.6 | 0.189 | 40.3% | 46.9% | 0.5% | 3.9 |
| 5 | Tamil Nadu | 68.0 | 0.141 | 32.4% | 43.6% | 2.6% | 22.0 |
| 4 | Himachal Pradesh | 6.7 | 0.131 | 31.0% | 42.3% | 0.3% | 2.1 |
| 3 | Punjab | 27.1 | 0.120 | 26.2% | 46.0% | 1.0% | 7.1 |
| 21 | Bihar | 95.0 | 0.499 | 81.4% | 61.3% | 13.5% | 77.3 |
| 20 | Jharkhand | 30.5 | 0.463 | 77.0% | 60.2% | 4.2% | 23.5 |
| 2 | Goa | 1.6 | 0.094 | 21.7% | 43.4% | 0.0% | 0.4 |
| 19 | Madhya Pradesh | 70.0 | 0.389 | 69.5% | 56.0% | 8.5% | 48.6 |
| 18 | Chhattisgarh | 23.9 | 0.387 | 71.9% | 53.9% | 2.9% | 17.2 |
| 17 | Uttar Pradesh | 192.6 | 0.386 | 69.9% | 55.2% | 21.3% | 134.7 |
| 16 | Rajasthan | 65.4 | 0.351 | 64.2% | 54.7% | 7.0% | 41.9 |
| 15 | Orissa | 40.7 | 0.345 | 64.0% | 54.0% | 4.3% | 26.0 |
| 14 | West Bengal | 89.5 | 0.317 | 58.3% | 54.3% | 8.5% | 52.2 |
| 13 | Eastern Indian States | 44.2 | 0.303 | 57.6% | 52.5% | 4.0% | 25.5 |
| 12 | Karnataka | 58.6 | 0.223 | 46.1% | 48.3% | 4.2% | 27.0 |
| 11 | Andhra Pradesh | 83.9 | 0.211 | 44.7% | 47.1% | 5.1% | 37.5 |
| 10 | Jammu And Kashmir | 12.2 | 0.209 | 43.8% | 47.7% | 0.7% | 5.4 |
| 1 | Kerala | 35.0 | 0.065 | 15.9% | 40.9% | 0.6% | 5.6 |
Estimates by NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) show that 48% of the Indian households earn more than 90,000 (US$2,007) annually (or more than US$ 3 PPP per person). According to NCAER, in 2009, of the 222 million households in India, the absolutely poor households (annual incomes below 45,000) accounted for only 15.6% of them or about 35 million (about 200 million Indians). Another 80 million households are in income levels of 45,000– 90,000 per year. These numbers also are more or less in line with the latest World Bank estimates of the “below-the-poverty-line” households that may total about 100 million (or about 456 million individuals)
90,000 (US$2,007) annually (or more than US$ 3 PPP per person). According to NCAER, in 2009, of the 222 million households in India, the absolutely poor households (annual incomes below 45,000) accounted for only 15.6% of them or about 35 million (about 200 million Indians). Another 80 million households are in income levels of 45,000– 90,000 per year. These numbers also are more or less in line with the latest World Bank estimates of the “below-the-poverty-line” households that may total about 100 million (or about 456 million individuals)The World Bank estimates that 80% of India's population lives on less than $2 a day which means a higher proportion of its population lives on less than $2 per day as compared with sub-Saharan Africa
