Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI): A state wise study of India in SAARC countries

Multi-dimensional poverty index is an international measure of acute poverty covering over 104 countries. As everyone knows that Poverty is measured as a single dimensional index such as income. But income alone misses a lot because India is growing fast in economic perspective but health, education and living standard not improved yet. It is the fact that India’s per capita income lies in one of the top countries in the world but if we look on the other aspects like health, education and standard of living, then we find that India is not so good in the other aspects rather than the income. India lies on 73th position from 104 countries with a 53% multidimensional poor. Among the 29 states, some states of India having high per capita income, yet lies in the high multidimensional poverty index. It means those states have high per capita income but lacks in the health and standard of living. Some states like Kerala is in very good position in Multidimensional poverty index while remaining states are in very bad position in MPI according to OPHI. MPI illuminates a different set of deprivation and reflects the deprivation in very rudimentary services and core human functioning for people. It shows the number of people who are multidimensional poor and the number of deprivation with which poor household typically content.