The scale of poverty today
According to the 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, approximately 220 million Indians (16.4% of the population) live in multidimensional poverty, meaning they are deprived across three core areas: health, education, and standard of living.
These are not just poor in income; they lack access to clean cooking fuel, adequate housing, sanitation, nutrition and electricity simultaneously. An additional 18.7% of the population—roughly 266 million people—are vulnerable to poverty, meaning they are just one health crisis, job loss or bad harvest away from falling into acute deprivation.
The intensity of deprivation among those already poor is 42%, meaning the average poor person is deprived across 42% of the indicators measured.The poorest remain concentrated in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where deprivation is significantly deeper than in better-performing states like Kerala, TamilNadu and Goa.
The rural-urban divide
One of the starkest features of poverty in India is the gap between villages and cities. Rural areas, where 65% of India’s population still lives, have received a fraction of planned resources for development. This “urban bias” policy left rural infrastructure roads, schools, hospitals, electricity severely underdeveloped compared to cities.As a result, rural poverty remains significantly higher than urban poverty. Rural communities face not only lower incomes but also limited employment opportunities beyond agriculture, poor access to healthcare and education, and geographic isolation that makes it harder to sell products or access services.
When rural poor migrate to cities seeking better lives, they often end up in sprawling slums without stable jobs, clean water or sanitation.
How poverty traps people in Cycle
Poverty is not just about lacking money; it is a trap that makes escape nearly impossible. When a family earns barely enough for food, any unexpected cost—a child’s illness, a crop failure, a roof that leaks—becomes catastrophic. According to Oxfam, healthcare costs push approximately 63 million Indians into poverty every year, meaning families lose everything trying to pay for medical treatment.
Children born into poor families are malnourished, start school later, attend irregularly because they must work, and leave school early to contribute income. According to India’s own government submission to the Supreme Court, widespread hunger caused 65% of deaths of children under age 5 in 2022.These children grow into adults with limited education and skills, earning low wages that keep them and their families poor. The cycle repeats.
Women bear a particular burden. The gender pay gap means female workers earn only 63 paise for every rupee earned by male workers, forcing women to accept exploitative employment or remain financially dependent on men.In poor households, girls are more likely to drop out of school early to manage household work or get married, limiting their economic independence.
What measures can be take to reduce poverty and break this cycle ?
MBH/PS