World Bank estimates on India’s poverty

World Bank estimates on India’s poverty: Recently, India has achieved a major economic milestone with a sharp decline in poverty rates. As per the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Brief, cited by the Government of India, 171 million people have exited extreme poverty over the past decade.

o Following the World Bank’s revision of the global poverty line to $3 per day (PPP), it is now estimated that only 5.75% of Indians live in extreme poverty — a significant drop from 27% in 2011–12.

• Key Findings from the World Bank Poverty Update (2025)

o Revised Historical Poverty Estimates: India's past poverty levels were lower than earlier recorded.

ü Example: Poverty in 1977–78 was previously estimated at 64%, now revised to 47%.

o Updated Global Poverty Line: The World Bank now defines extreme poverty as living on less than $3/day (PPP).

o For India, this translates to ₹62/day per person (PPP-adjusted rate: ₹20.6/USD).Under this measure: In 2011–12, 27% of Indians (~34.4 crore people) were in extreme poverty and by 2022–23, this fell to 5.75% (~7.5 crore people).

• About Poverty Line : The minimum income level below which a person is considered poor. However, this threshold is not fixed and varies based on time and place:

o Over time, inflation changes what is considered a sufficient income.

o Across places, the same amount of money can buy different quantities of goods, making poverty a context-specific concept.