Has Poverty Declined in India? The World Bank Believes So

Has Poverty Declined in India? The World Bank Believes So

Despite India’s claim of historic poverty decline, new data raises doubts. Are vulnerable lives masked by changing metrics? Dig into the real numbers.

Behind the numbers: Economist Indira Hirway debunks India's poverty reduction narrative

A recent article by noted economist Indira Hirway, titled “The Hoax of Decline in Poverty in India” and published in The Wire on July 8, 2025, casts serious doubt on official claims of a dramatic fall in poverty rates in India. Hirway critiques the recent estimates by economists C. Rangarajan and S. Mahendra Dev, which assert that extreme poverty declined from 29.5% in 2011–12 to 9.5% in 2022–23, and further to 4.9% in 2023–24—a near 25 percenta…