New Delhi: In the recent NITI Aayog report on the multidimensional poverty index, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya made headlines for having the highest proportion of multidimensionally poor people among their respective total populations. However, these states had also shown the maximum decline in poverty.
On the other hand, Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, and Punjab are the states with the lowest proportion of multidimensionally poor people as compared to their total populations.
This report did not just look at poverty in terms of people who are financially poor – it examined 12 indicators that are clubbed under health, education, and standard of living, and measured the deprivation score of the people in these areas. Hence, the term ‘multidimensional poverty’ is used in the report.
In the following charts, we look at the five states with the lowest proportion of multidimensionally poor people and how they performed as per the 12 parameters – out of which ten are in consonance with the global multidimensional poverty index measured by the UN.
Health
There are three indicators under the health category.
Nutrition
A household is considered deprived if any child between the ages of 0 to 59 months; or a woman between the ages of 15 to 49 years; or a man between the ages of 15 to 54 years for whom nutritional information is available is found to be undernourished.
A woman (15 to 49 years) or a man (15 to 54 years) is considered ‘undernourished’ if their body mass index (BMI) is below 18.5 kg/m2 or the age-specific BMI cutoff for individuals aged 15-19 years, when information is available.
Children under five years of age are considered malnourished if their z-score of height-for-age (stunting) or weight-for-age (underweight) is below minus two standard deviations from the median of the reference population.
It is to be noted that even if a single member of the household is identified as ‘undernourished’, the entire household is treated as deprived of nutrition.
In the chart below, we have compared only those states where the extent of multidimensional poverty is lowest in India. However, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh have lesser proportions of population deprived, but more than Kerala, as far as nutrition is concerned. Similarly, Nagaland figures in between Punjab and Goa.
Child and adolescent mortality
A household is considered deprived if any child or adolescent under 18 years of age has died in the household in the five-year period preceding the survey, according to the report. It goes on to add that the death of a child or an adolescent signifies a ‘larger set of deprivations already experienced by the household’.
Lack of access to healthcare, infectious diseases, malnutrition, iron deficiency (anemia), or an unsafe environment are contributors to child and adolescent mortality.
And, therefore, NITI Aayog says that the death of a child or an adolescent indicates the deprivations experienced by a household in one or more of these factors.
A caveat here is, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Mizoram have less number of deprived households than Punjab but more than Goa. Sikkim is between Goa and Kerala.
Maternal care
A household is defined as deprived in this category if there had been a woman in it who had given birth in the five years preceding the survey (NFHS-5) and had not received at least four antenatal care visits to the hospital before the birth of the child; or had not received assistance from trained and skilled medical personnel during the most recent childbirth. This indicator is not a part of the UN assessment of global multidimensional poverty.
A caveat here is, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, West Bengal, Mizoram, and Andhra Pradesh have lesser numbers of deprived households as compared to Punjab, but more than Tamil Nadu, in terms of maternal care.
Education
There are two indicators under this vertical.
Years of schooling
A household is deprived if not even one member of the household aged 10 years or older has completed six years of schooling, according to the report.
The NITI Aayog adds that this indicator has a cumulative positive effect on the household. “Even if one member has more than six years of schooling, the positive effect of that education (in terms of an increase in economic opportunities such as the ability to enter high-paying employment or in terms of improvement in social standing) is shared among all members of the household,” it says.
If the household had one member who had completed six years of schooling, the entire household is considered non-deprived – even if other members had not individually attended school.
A caveat is, in terms of the proportions of households deprived under this indicator, Maharashtra, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Manipur lie in between Punjab and Goa. Similarly, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Mizoram fare better than Tamil Nadu, but worse than Punjab.
School attendance
The NITI Aayog considers a household as deprived if any school-aged child is not attending school up to the age at which s/he would complete Class VIII.
The report says if a child is not doing so, it is indicative of the household experiencing difficulties not only in the present but also what it may experience in the future as a consequence of a child not completing education till Class VIII.
A caveat here is, lesser proportions of households in Karnataka, Mizoram, Tripura, Maharashtra, Manipur, West Bengal, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are deprived as compared to Punjab, but more than Tamil Nadu.
Standards of living
There are seven indicators under this vertical.
Cooking fuel
A household is deprived if the primary source of cooking fuel is dung, agricultural crops, shrubs, wood, charcoal or coal.
As per the report, apart from having a clean source of cooking, the household also had to ensure that it was being utilised. The household must also be utilising the improved/safe source of cooking fuel as their primary source of cooking fuel, i.e. a household may have an LPG connection and stove, but if wood/coal is the primary (most used) fuel for cooking, then the house is considered deprived.
Evidently, a lesser number of households in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, as compared to Sikkim, and more than Goa, were found deprived by the NITI Aayog.
Sanitation
If a household does not have a toilet, which is being utilised and is not shared with other households, it is considered to be deprived.
A caveat here is, Nagaland and Mizoram have more deprivation than Goa, but less than Kerala.
Tripura, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Haryana lie between Tamil Nadu and Punjab on the charts as far as deprivation under this indicator is concerned.
Drinking water
The NITI Aayog says a household would be marked deprived if it does not have access to an improved source of safe drinking water, or if the access to safe drinking water takes more than a 30-minute walk from home (as a round trip).
In Bihar, fewer households are deprived of a drinking water source than in Punjab, but more than in Goa. Similarly, in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Mizoram, and Telangana, fewer households as compared to Kerala don’t have a clean drinking water source, but in these states, the deprivation is higher than in Goa.
Electricity
A household is considered deprived if it does not have electricity.
In Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana, there is more deprivation of electricity compared to Kerala, but less than Tamil Nadu.
Housing
As per NITI Aayog, if a household has a floor made of natural materials or roof/walls of ‘rudimentary materials’ like mud, clay, or sand dung, then it is considered deprived of a proper housing facility.
A caveat here is, in Maharashtra, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat, the deprivation is less than in Sikkim but more than in Punjab
Ownership of assets
If a household does not have more than one of the following of these assets – radio, TV, telephone, computer, animal cart, bicycle, motorbike, or refrigerator, and does not own a car or a truck – it is considered deprived. But if a household has either a car or a truck and not any more things, it wouldn’t be considered deprived.
A caveat here is Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana figure in between Tamil Nadu and Sikkim in terms of deprivation of ownership of assets.
Bank account
If no household member has a bank account or a post office account, the NITI Aayog considers it as deprived. This indicator is also not a part of the matrix used by the UN to compute the multidimensional poverty index.
Experts have also questioned the rationale behind including this as one of the parameters for measuring multidimensional poverty because the mere existence of bank accounts has not necessarily translated into financial inclusion.
A caveat here is, in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Manipur, Jharkhand, and Bihar, more people have a bank account, but fewer than in Punjab.