Poverty is a concept defined as the lack of financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living, encompassing low income, poor health, and inadequate education. Hunger is the physical sensation from insufficient dietary energy, closely related to food insecurity and malnutrition. The official measurement of poverty in India is the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a scheme published by NITI Aayog. The MPI measures simultaneous deprivations across three dimensions—health, education, and standard of living—using twelve indicators.
Poverty alleviation programs began in the early 1950s to address the widespread hunger and poverty inherited at independence. A major shift occurred with the enactment of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, a provision signed into law on September 12, 2013, which changed the approach from welfare to a rights-based entitlement. The NFSA, 2013, guarantees subsidized foodgrains to approximately two-thirds of the population, covering 75% of rural and 50% of urban households. Key provisions grant eligible households the right to purchase five kilograms of grains per person per month at fixed prices (₹3/kg for rice, ₹2/kg for wheat, ₹1/kg for coarse cereals). The Act also provides meals for children and pregnant/lactating mothers and mandates the eldest woman (18 years or older) as the head of the household for ration cards.
The NFSA converts existing programs like the Midday Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) into legal entitlements. The right to food is connected to the fundamental right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. The National MPI is published by NITI Aayog, the institution that replaced the Planning Commission on January 1, 2015. The MPI uses data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), with the latest review using NFHS-5 (2019-21) data. Recently, the official measurement shifted from income/consumption-based poverty lines to the MPI. The NITI Aayog's National MPI: A Progress Review 2023 reported that 13.5 crore Indians escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 2019-21 (NFHS-5), with the headcount ratio falling from 24.85% to 14.96%.