VIJAYAWADA: Multi-dimensional poverty in Andhra Pradesh saw a drop of 5.71 per cent from 2015-16 to 2019-2021, according to the ‘National Multi-dimensional Poverty Index: A progressive review’ report released by NITI Aayog on Monday. As per the report, the State recorded 6.06 per cent poverty in 2019-2021, down from 11.77 per cent in 2015-16.
The report is based on the comparative data between the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for the period of 2019-21 and NFHS-4 for the period of 2015-16.
The National MPI measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education and standard of living that are represented by 12 (Sustainable Development Goals) SDG-aligned indicators—nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts.
Andhra Pradesh has reported a marked improvement in all the indicators. Data for the State has been compiled based on the 13 erstwhile districts. Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Prakasam, which have been considered backward districts, recorded significant improvement in the index.
In Vizianagaram, poverty dropped to 8.66 per cent in 2019-21 from 19 per cent in 2015-16. In Srikakulam, the figure stood at 5.20 per cent, down from 14.01 per cent. On the other hand, Prakasam saw a drop in multi-dimensional poverty to 6.28 per cent from 13.84 per cent.
In the Rayalaseema region, Kurnool had the highest multi-dimensional poverty of 19.64 per cent in the State in 2015-16. The figure dropped to 12.84 per cent in 2019-21. Kadapa saw multi-dimensional poverty drop to 3.34 per cent in 2019-21 from 9.14 per cent in 2015-16, while the figure stood at 6.74 per cent in Anantapur, a drop from 12.47 per cent.
The population of poor in Chittoor dropped to 5.66 per cent in 2019-21 from 9.64 per cent in 2015-16. However, the least improvement was noticed in East Godavari, as the population of multi-dimensionally poor dropped to 6.13 per cent in 2019-21 from 8.51 per cent.