00:00But our top focus tonight is a subject that should concern each and every one of us.
00:05For decades, India has been associated with poverty, Garibi.
00:10Now the latest World Bank report suggests that poverty is witnessing one of the fastest declines in the world in
00:19India.
00:20But can these findings be taken at face value or is the methodology flawed?
00:25This is what we will discuss with our experts.
00:27But first today, let's take a look at what exactly the World Bank is saying about a decline in Indian
00:34poverty between 2011 and 2023
00:37and how that is affecting income inequalities as well.
00:42It's our top focus tonight.
00:47India is making rapid advances in its war on poverty.
00:50The latest World Bank report says India lifted 49.6 crore people out of poverty between 2011 and 2023,
01:00making it one of the fastest poverty declines in the world.
01:05India's poverty ratio at $4.2 a day dropped sharply from 57.7% of population in 2011 to 16
01:14.1% in 2023.
01:18Extreme poverty calculated at $3.3 a day plunged from 27.1% in 2011 to 2.6% in
01:262023.
01:28Even though the Gini index, which measures inequality, is low at 23,
01:33the report warns the top 10% population earns a median income 13 times higher than the bottom 10%.
01:42While the BJP hailed the World Bank report, the Congress highlighted the agency's concerns on income inequality.
02:01And the World Bank does not just stop here.
02:05The World Bank says that the extreme poverty in India has declined in an unprecedented manner,
02:11which is not seen in any other nation in the 21st century.
02:14The World Bank has itself has said that the income inequality, India has raised from 52 to 62.
02:27Before, the issue with India's inequalities or a country like India, which is a vast country,
02:37a few data points can't answer this kind of thing.
02:41The World Bank attributes the drop in poverty to consumption growth,
02:45rising employment, especially among women, and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies.
02:52But it also flags high-wage disparities.
02:55The challenge for the country remains job creation and raising incomes.
03:00Bureau Report, India Today.
