North India Statesman
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The World Bank said that India has now come under the category of low-medium income countries. Poverty rate in the country has come down from 61.8% to 28.1% on the basis of poverty line at $ 3.65 per day. With this change, 378 million Indians have come out of poverty. Rural poverty has come down from 69% to 32.5% and urban poverty has come down from 43.5% to 17.2%.
Important role of five states
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have contributed significantly to poverty alleviation. In 2011-12, 65% of the country’s population lived in excessive poverty in these states. By 2022-23, two-thirds of poverty will come from these states. However, 54% of people are still extremely poor in these states and 51% of the people are multi-faceted (2019-21 figures).
Improvement in employment, especially for women
India has also made remarkable progress on the employment front. Employment opportunities are increasing rapidly than the number of people of working age (15-64 years) from the year 2021-22 in the country. Especially the employment rate of women has improved rapidly. In the first quarter of 2024–25, urban unemployment declined to 6.6%, the lowest level after 2017-18.
For the first time after 2018-19, a large number of men are going from villages to cities in search of employment. On the other hand, there has been an increase in jobs related to farming and agriculture for women in rural areas.
Employment is still facing challenges
However, India is still facing challenges on the employment front. The unemployment rate among the youth is 13.3%, which increases to 29% in highly educated youth. Only 23% of the jobs available in non-agricultural sectors (such as factories, shops, offices) are permanent, while 77% of jobs are temporary or informal. Agriculture related jobs are almost completely temporary.
