Targeting poverty

Govt must revamp social-safety programmes

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"Various estimates in recent years have indicated a significant decline in the level of poverty in India. The outcome would improve further if households falling into poverty were saved. In this regard, a new ☐ research paper published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research has drawn attention to redesigning the social-safety nets for citizens. Titled "Rethinking Social Safety Nets in a Changing Society", the paper notes a substantial decline in poverty levels from 21.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 8.5 per cent in 2022-24, based on the Tendulkar method. Drawing on the nationwide panel data from the three waves of the India Human Development Survey - 2004-05, 2011-12, and 2022-24 - the paper notes that of the 8.5 per cent of individuals identified as poor in 2022-24, 3.2 per cent have remained persistently impoverished since 2011-12, while 5.3 per cent have newly fallen into poverty.