sentinelgroup@gmail.com
It is indeed a matter of great regret that the 2026 Global Hunger Index ranks India 100th among 122 countries. The latest Global Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates that approximately 23.8 crore Indians experience overlapping deprivations in health, education and living conditions. Though India has reduced extreme poverty substantially between 2011 and 2023, our country's neighbourhood is illuminating in this context. While Bangladesh reduced extreme poverty from 25.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent between 2010 and 2022, Nepal reduced it from 22.1 percent to 2.4 percent in the same period. It may be mentioned here that China has reduced its MDP by 56 per cent in just four years. The World Bank report highlights that median earnings among the highest-paid 10 per cent of workers in India were approximately 1,200 per cent higher than those among the lowest-paid 10 per cent in 2023. There is an utmost necessity for concrete steps for meaningful poverty reduction. It should be assessed against the availability of secure, adequately paid work, nutritious food and affordable, reliable healthcare, education and basic amenities. The coordinated poverty-alleviated welfare action must, therefore, guide transparent, regularly updated poverty estimates to improve the quality of life of the proverbial last man in the welfare queue.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati.