Chandrababu Naidu releases Poverty Index Report

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu released the AP Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report 2017, prepared by State Planning Department in collaboration with Oxford Poverty and Human Development. As per the report, the AP stands at 51st rank globally. The AP got the rank with an index value of 0.0825 (value ranges from 0 to 1; 0 being the best and 1 being the worst or poorest).

India, with an index value of 0.1911 is at the 66th position in the table. Within the state, East Godavari is the best performing district with an MPI value of 0.0468 while Vizianagaram is the lowest ranked district with an MPI value of 0.1271.By conducting this study, AP has become the first state in the country to estimate the MPI at State and district levels.

AP has been regularly benchmarking itself against global and national indices, observed Chandrababu Naidu while releasing the index report.
He further stated that the State Planning Department has earlier brought out Happiness Index Report and Global Competitiveness Index Report.

The MPI methodology measures poverty by capturing deprivations faced by people in the areas of education, health and living standards.
In this aspect, it differs from the conventionally followed method of estimating poverty based on consumption expenditure which was last published by erstwhile Planning Commission in 2013.

The MPI methodology was developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford, in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is one of the most widely accepted global measures of multidimensional poverty, estimated for 104 developing countries.

MPI is an important indicator from the point of view of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 1, which aims at “ending poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030”, focuses not only on monitoring poverty but also on multiple deprivations faced by people.

The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio of the State, which gives the proportion of people living in multidimensional poverty, has reduced from 41.6% in 2005-06 to 21% in 2016-17. The rural headcount ratio stands at 22% while for urban areas it is 19%. As of 2011, the headcount ratio of the country stands at 41.3%.

The MPI estimation project was led by Alen John (Senior Associate), Bhaskar Somayaji (Consultant) and Soumya Guha (Associate) under the supervision and guidance of Prathima Reddy, Director at Vision Management Unit, AP State Development Planning Society, Planning Department. 

The end to end process include sampling, data processing and analysis and estimation of headcount and Index values have been verified by OPHI, the officials have said. Dr Christian Oldiges, OPHI Research Officer and lead on developing MPIs for South Asia was present at the release.