India must find ways to pull its poor out of abyss
The new dispensation in Delhi seeks to restore India to its natural position of leadership on the world stage, but the country's aspirations to being a global player of import can hardly be fulfilled as long as it is home to an overwhelmingly large section of the world's poor and hungry population. According to the United Nations’ annual report on the Millennium Development Goals, one- third of the world's extremely poor people, defined as those who exist on less than a $1.25 a day, live in India. That is more than the number of extremely poor people in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria has only nine per cent of the world's poorest), and even in neighbouring South Asian countries (Bangladesh has five per cent). Some may argue that absolute figures such as these portray India in a negative light as they do not take into consideration the fact that the country is also the second most populous in the world. In which case, let us take a look as some comparative figures. China is a good example here. Even though it follows India on the list, it stands as a far second with only 13 per cent of the global extreme poor. Yet, both countries started from a similar base line — in 1990, China was home to 60 per cent of the world's extreme poor which was comparable to India's percentage at that time. However, in the two decades since then, China has led the way in poverty reduction, bringing millions out of abject destitution, while India has lagged behind. The figures for other human development indices tell an equally bleak story. For example, 60 per cent of the people who defecate in the open live in India. Over the years, compared to the performance of other Asian countries, India has seen only a nominal increase in the number of people who have gained access to better sanitation facilities. Also, this country has the dubious distinction of topping the child mortality rate list. In 2012, 1.4 million Indian children died before their fifth birthday — the highest in the world. India also accounts for a significant 17 per cent of the world's maternal mortality deaths. This is not surprising given that poverty, hunger and sanitation levels are directly related to child and maternal mortality rates.
Perhaps the most damning indication of India's performance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals is that it has fared worse than even the worst-performing sub-regions. The 2014 reports shows that South Asia has not kept pace with South-East Asia, where Vietnam and Cambodia have raced ahead in alleviating poverty and hunger. The report also points out that India is the major factor burdening regional progress. Indeed, while South East and East Asia are on track to meeting their Millennium Development Goal targets, in all probability South Asia, particularly India, will fall short. As the new Government re-vitalises the great India story, it must ensure that the country's human development indices also rise alongside its economic indicators.