Bihar saw record decline in poverty in 5 years since 2015-16: Minister

“Of the total 13.51 crore people lifted out of BPL (below poverty line) category across the country in the period from 2015-16 to 2019-21, as per multidimensional poverty index report released by Niti Aayog recently, 2.25 crore are from Bihar”.

Bihar has registered a record decline in poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the steepest among various states, state’s planning and development minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said on Friday, citing a recent report released by Niti Aayog.

Bihar minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav addresses a press conference in Patna on Friday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

“Of the total 13.51 crore people lifted out of BPL (below poverty line) category across the country in the period from 2015-16 to 2019-21, as per multidimensional poverty index report released by Niti Aayog recently, 2.25 crore are from Bihar,” the minister said at a press conference, adding that Bihar accounted for 16.65% of the population lifted out of the BPL category in the country during the period.

“The poverty in Bihar has come down from 51.89 per cent to 33.76 per cent, which is a decline of 18.13 per cent,” the minister said.

“Bihar is progressing fast on all fronts despite negligent attitude of the Centre. Had the state been accorded status of special category, Bihar would have developed more and found its place among developed states,” Yadav said.

The minister said other states which have recorded drastic decline in poverty after Bihar are Madhya Pradesh (15.94%), Uttar Pradesh (14.75%), Odisha (13.66%) and Rajasthan (13.55%).

Jharkhand too has registered a decline of 13.29% in poverty, he said.

“In the parameters of power connection, clean cooking fuel and bank accounts, Bihar has performed much better than many states,” the minister said.