In this paper, we provide a range of poverty estimates for India, including rural and urban poverty estimates for differ- ent states, using the recently released microdata from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES 2022–23). Using the World Bank’s $1.9 purchasing power parity (PPP) and $3.2 PPP poverty lines, we construct state-level rural and urban poverty lines for 2022–231 for the generation of state- level poverty estimates. National poverty estimates are based on an urbanisation rate of 30.3% for 2011–12 and 35.9% for 2022–23.
At the World Bank’s extreme poverty line of $1.9 PPP, India appears to have eliminated extreme poverty (a national poverty rate of 2.2% without adjustment of consumption expenditures for food and other subsidies). In addition, there has been a substantial decline in the poverty headcount ratio (HCR) at the higher poverty line ($3.2 PPP) from 53.6% in 2011–12 to 21.8% in 2022–23. Given the pace of poverty alleviation, and the present low level of $3.2 PPP poverty, we recommend an upward revision of the $3.2 PPP poverty line to adequately capture broader deprivation. Note that the United States (US) has approximately the same level of poverty (12%) as their own poverty line (set in the mid-1960s). An appropriate new poverty line should generate a poverty level of approximately 25% to 33%; the original US poverty line estimated poverty to be close to 20% of the population.