BHUBANESWAR: Odisha ranks second among bigger states which have maximum number of population below national poverty line.
As per Niti Aayog SDG India Index Baseline report, while Bihar tops the list of 14 bigger states with 33.74 per cent population below poverty line, it is 32.59 per cent in Odisha as against the national average of 21.92 per cent. However, the target is to achieve 10.95 per cent.
In a recent publication on state-wise poverty rate, the Reserve Bank of India also corroborated it by stating that 13.85 million population in Odisha are below poverty line as of 2011-12.
The state government claimed that it has achieved faster poverty reduction rate among all states.
It has reduced 24.61 per cent poverty from 57.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 32.59 per cent in 2011-12.
The latest Economic Survey stated that with 25.1 per cent points decline in poverty since 2004-05, the poverty ratio in rural Odisha stood at 35.69 per cent.
In comparison, rural poverty declined by 16 percentage points at the national level during the same period. However, Odisha stands at sixth position among all states in poverty ranking.
“With majority population in rural areas earning their livelihoods from agriculture, development of the areas is strongly associated with the growth of agriculture.
"As per 2011 Census, over 83 per cent of Odisha’s population resides in rural areas. Continuous efforts to uplift the rural economy and provide the population with suitable housing and basic services have successfully reduced rural poverty in the state,” the survey report said.
The state has also made significant improvements in reducing urban poverty, which has been reduced by 20.71 percentage points.
In contrast, the decline at national level has been 12 percentage points only.
Odisha successfully reduced the urban poverty gap and urban inequality with reduction outpacing the reduction at national level.
Slum population in the state is also less than national level as 3.27 per cent of population live in slums compared to 5.41 per cent at national level.
Though poverty reduction is higher than that witnessed at the national level, poverty levels continue to be higher in Odisha.