Poverty level significantly down to 5%, says Niti Aayog CEO: The latest survey of household consumption expenditure released by the statistics office has shown that rural consumption has remained robust, narrowing the gap with urban, and the numbers could mean a sharp reduction in the poverty level in the country, the Niti Aayog CEO said. “Based on this data, poverty levels in the country could be closer to 5% or less,” B V R Subrahmanyam said, adding that rural deprivation has almost disappeared going by the data.
The numbers could have an implication for interest rate setting by RBI as the share of food and cereals is lower in the retail inflation index, he said, asserting the data has dispelled doubts about the state of the rural economy. Poverty level is calculated on the basis of consumption expenditure data and there has been a sharp debate about the number of poor. Data for 2017-18 was not released, so this is the latest data after 2011-12.