It is a matter of pride for India that the World Bank has acknowledged our progress. The data is from the World Bank, and therefore, reliable. First, India has made a historic leap in reducing poverty. In the last twelve years, 500 million people have risen above the poverty line, meaning that if 57.7 percent of India’s population was poor in 2011, only 16.1 percent remained in 2023. The number of extremely poor in India has also declined from 27.1 percent in 2011 to just 2.6 percent in 2023. The World Bank estimates that 57 percent of our country’s poor population resides in states stretching from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal. The World Bank believes that the pace of poverty reduction in India may slow down in the future, and the poverty reduction rate may reach 12.1 percent in 2028. Poverty is now concentrated in families with low education, limited assets, and no stable employment. Regarding employment, the World Bank has provided a very proud figure: approximately 134 million additional job opportunities were created in the country between 2017 and 2023. The working age will also increase. Rural women are also participating in paid work. According to the World Bank, this achievement is due to increased consumption, increased employment opportunities, and our food subsidies. This increased participation of women has accelerated change. Of course, we welcome this progress and consider the government’s work credible. However, if we assess this progress from a realistic economic perspective, the World Bank defines the poverty line for the lower middle income group as $4.20 per day, and the extreme poverty line as $3 per day. While we take pride in these figures, we wonder if it’s true that we’ve changed the base years for the indices, and the definition of poverty isn’t clear. In some places, it’s even written that if a person eats one meal a day, they’re out of the poverty line. Well, this is a matter of economics, but the common man might ask: If India’s economic progress is the fastest in the world, if we’re poised to become the world’s fourth economic superpower, and if we dream of becoming the world’s largest economic power by 2047, the centenary of our independence, why does the country’s happiness index plummet by the time it reaches the common man? It’s said that statistics can prove a lot, but it’s important to consider what those assumptions are. Regardless of the average per capita income, why is there such a gap between the per capita income of backward regions and that of wealthy regions? Indeed, for the past 12 years, the country has had a stable government and strong leadership, but why is the Indian currency devaluing in international trade? Simply put, we have to pay more for whatever we import from abroad. The result is inflation. There is a gap between the pockets of the poor and their income. If India has become so powerful, why has compassion politics been practiced since the world is embroiled in a supply crisis due to wartime tensions? Why are young people not guaranteed employment according to their qualifications? We are not denying India’s achievements; we are proud that our economic growth rate is much faster than that of prosperous countries. If only the poor could keep pace with their prosperity, without the depths of inequality standing in the way.
World Bank Figures Should Provide Relief to the common Indian.
