Measuring Poverty in India: An Online Panel Discussion
The release of the Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2022–23 (HCES 2022–23) by the Government of India in February 2024 has invigorated discussions surrounding poverty in the country. The last official estimate of consumption poverty in India was from 2011-12, and the new survey data has made it possible to estimate the level of poverty in the country again.
Initial media reports and studies suggested a substantial fall in poverty levels in 2022-23 to around 10 per cent or less. However, a recent research article published in the Review of Agrarian Studies (14,2) highlights that more than a quarter of the Indian population continues to live below the poverty line. The article, titled “Poverty in India: The Rangarajan Method and the 2022–23 Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey,” employs the methodology proposed by the Expert Group chaired by C. Rangarajan, appointed by the Government of India in 2012 to review the method of estimating poverty. The paper computes a national poverty headcount ratio of 26.4 per cent in 2023 – considerably higher than early reports – marking an important intervention to the discourse on poverty in India.
In this context, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies, in collaboration with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) conducted an online panel discussion on measuring poverty in India, at 3 pm IST, on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
The discussion was chaired by Professor Madhura Swaminathan, Professor and Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute.
The panel featured esteemed experts:
- Gaurav Datt, Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability, Monash University.
- Himanshu, Associate Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
- P.C. Mohanan, Chairman of the Kerala State Statistical Commission.
- R. Ramakumar, Professor at the School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
The authors of the research article, Sethu C. A., Senior Research Assistant, Foundation for Agrarian Studies; Abhinav Surya L. T., PhD Scholar, Centre for Development Studies; and Ruthu C. A., Office of the Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Planning Board, presented their findings, setting the stage for the discussion on measuring poverty in India.
A brief report of the webinar can be found at this link.