MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Social Issues)

Context: According to NITI Aayog, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is another method for assessing poverty, but it has been criticized for not providing "useful information" recently.

 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

• About: The index is a key international resource that measures acute multidimensional poverty across more than 100 developing countries.
• Produced by: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
• Calculation of MPI: Multiplying the incidence of poverty and the average intensity of poverty.
• MPI Ranges: From 0 to 1, and higher values imply higher poverty.

National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

• About: It is prepared based on the latest National Family Heath Survey of 2019-21.

o NFHS is conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

• First Edition Released: 2021
• Nodal Agency: NITI Ayog
• Indicators: 3 equally weighted dimensions - Health, Education, and Standard of living