The first ever Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) prepared by government think tank Niti Aayog has said that Bihar has the highest proportion of people, at 51.91 per cent poor in the nation, followed by Jharkhand at 42.16 per cent and Uttar Pradesh at 37.79 per cent.

The MPI seeks to measure poverty across its multiple dimensions and in effect complements existing poverty statistics based on per capita consumption expenditure. It has three equally weighted dimensions – health, education, and standard of living – which in turn are represented by 12 indicators like nutrition, school attendance, years of schooling, drinking water, sanitation, housing, bank accounts among others.

Bihar also has the highest number of malnourished people followed by Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Kerala, Goa, and Sikkim have the lowest percentage of population being multidimensionally poor at 0.71 per cent, 3.76 per cent and 3.82 per cent, respectively. This baseline report of the national MPI measure is based on the reference period of 2015-16 of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

The development of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index of India is an important contribution towards instituting a public policy tool which monitors multidimensional poverty, informs evidence-based and focused interventions, thereby ensuring that no one is left behind. This report presents an in-depth analysis of the headcount ratio and intensity of multidimensional poverty at the national, State/UT, and district levels,” NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said.