Kerala and Andhra Pradesh might be the best performing states in India in reducing poverty but when compared with ‘star performing countries’ like Nepal or Bangladesh, they cut a sorry figure. The latest report released by the University of Oxford based on the multidimensional poverty index (MPI), both the states are not even half as good as Nepal or Bangladesh. The study is based on facts collected from the year 1999-2006.

The report says that two states, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh topped in reducing percentage of poor people in India. In Kerala, it was reduced from 32.6 percent to 9.5 percent while Andhra Pradesh reduced poverty by 15 percentage points, from 56.7 percent to 41.6 percent. The MPI measures the intensity of deprivations that poor people face due to nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, child school attendance, water, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, flooring, and assets and not just income.

According to the study, poverty reduction measures have not been sufficient in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh as in Nepal or Bangladesh.

In the same year, India reduced poverty by 1.2 percentage points a year. According to the study, India made significant strides in reducing poverty but not as good as its neighbour. “The percentage of poor people in Nepal dropped from 64.7% to 44.2% between 2006 and 2011, 4.1 percentage points per year, while in Bangladesh poverty rates decreased by 3.2 percentage points per year between 2004 and 2007,” the report noted.

During 1999-2006 Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana recorded small reductions in poverty headcount ratio. The study said that North eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura also moved at snail’s pace in poverty alleviation measures.

While other caste and religious groups surged ahead, the scheduled tribes and Muslims still fought poverty.

“The poorest groups - Scheduled Tribes, Muslims, female-headed households, households whose head had no education and the poorest states saw slower reductions in poverty,” said the key findings of global MPI 2013.

It said, “This is disturbing and contrasts sharply with trends in income-poverty reduction from 1993/4 to 2004/5 across states.”

The study, however, said poverty is shrinking across the world, including the developing countries.

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