Country has managed to remove 302 million people from poverty in the last 12 years, the result of rapid economic growth coupled with directed social policies.
The highest progress were recorded between Muslim communities and other marginalized groups. Far beyond elections and peaceful transfer of power, the essence of democracy lies in the obligation of the rulers to respond to the fundamental needs of all citizens, especially the most vulnerable, regardless of their religion or political affiliation. Poverty reduction and inclusive development are essential pillars of this democratic mission.
Since Narendra Moda took office as Prime Minister 11 years ago, India has registered a strong economic growth. To assess whether this progress was inclusive, it was used “Rangarajan Line”, Metric proposed in 2014 by a group of experts led by Chakravarthi Rangarajan, former governor of the India reserve bank. This method uses, according to detailed consumer data, follows official nutritional guidelines and considers essential non -food expenses, adjusting the values to food inflation and not food based on consumer price index.
The analysis, supported by national inquiries of families expense between 2011-12 and 2023-24, reveals a Sacreed drop in poverty rates: from 30.4% to 3.9% in rural areas, 26.4% to 3.9% in urban areas and 29.5% to 3.9% at national level. In addition to numerical reduction, poverty intensity has also decreased, with the average “moat” between the yields of poor families and the poverty line to fall from 18.4% to 10.2%.
Progress was significant among religious communities. In 2011-12, 31.7% of rural Muslims lived below the poverty line, slightly above rural hindus (30.9%). In 2023-24, poverty among rural Muslims fell to 2.4%, while among Hindus it was 4%. In cities, the contrast is even more expressive: in 2011-12, 39.4% of urban Muslims were poor against 24.4% of Hindus; By 2023-24, the rates dropped to 5.7% and 3.7%, respectively, reducing the difference from 15 to just 2 percentage points.
The trend is repeated among historically disadvantaged social groups, such as the registered tribes (STS), registered castes (SCs) and the so-called other backward classes (OBCs). In rural areas, STS presented in 2011-12 the highest poverty rate (49.5%), followed by SCs and OBCs. Twelve years later, poverty between STS fell to 12.2%, while in the “general” category (not included in previous classifications) dropped from 20%to 1.6%. The difference between STS and general went from 29.5 to 10.6 percentage points, and between SCs and General, from 17.4 to 2.6 points.
In urban areas, SCs had a poverty rate of 39.6%, against 16.7% in the general category-a pit of almost 23 percentage points. In 2023-24, this difference dropped dramatically, with SCs to record 6.6% and the 2.5% General Group. Among urban STS, the rate dropped from 38.2% to 9.9%, and between obcs from 30.4% to 3.6%.
The consistent drop of poverty in all religious and social groups reflects the conjugation of sustained economic growth and effective social policies or universal and directed. Despite identity tensions and political polarization episodes, data indicate a more inclusive development path than is usually recognized.
The improvement between Muslims, one of the most disadvantaged urban communities in the country, is particularly relevant and shows that the implemented policies have benefited the population beyond religious cleavages. Reducing the disparities between traditionally marginalized castes and other groups is another sign of greater economic and social integration.
