MGNREGA and Poverty 

Based on the consumption expenditure numbers of National Statistical Office (NSO) report, rural poverty in India went up by 4 percentage between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to 30 percent. In the case of urban poverty, there was a drop seen of 9 percentage at the same time. Although the urban poverty drop is sharper than the increase in rural poverty, overall, the weight of rural area is much greater and hence it increased the overall poverty rate to 23 percent in the year 2017-18. The data and graph can be found below:

Table: India’s Poverty Rate in Last Few Decades

Estimates till 2011-12 are as reported by a 2013 Planning Commission note on poverty rates. Estimates for 2017-18 are derived estimates from the buried consumption survey report prepared by the NSO, using the inflation- adjusted state-wise poverty lines drawn by the Planning Commission in 2013 based on the Tendulkar committee methodology of estimating poverty.

Figure: India's Poverty Rate in Last Few Decades

Although one may be inclined to think that the slight increase in poverty rate is insignificant, but it is important in many ways. This slight increase deftly masks important inter-state disparities which an analyst must pay attention to. It is evident from the data presented in above table that many states in the east and north-east have observed a sharp rise in poverty in last few years. Some of the southern states, except Karnataka, managed to push down the poverty rates.

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