POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES IN INDIA: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Poverty reduction has remained one of the foremost objectives of India's economic planning since Independence because poverty affects income, education, health, nutrition, housing, employment, and overall human development. Over the decades, India has adopted a combination of economic growth, employment generation, agricultural development, social welfare programmes, financial inclusion, and human capital investment to improve the living standards of economically weaker sections. The economic reforms initiated in 1991 accelerated growth by encouraging industrialisation, private investment, and global integration, which generated employment opportunities and increased government revenues for welfare spending. Simultaneously, targeted poverty alleviation programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Public Distribution System, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, and National Rural Livelihoods Mission have strengthened social protection and reduced vulnerability among poor households. According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index released by NITI Aayog, multidimensional poverty declined from 29.17 percent during 2013 to 2014 to 11.28 percent during 2020 to 2020, with nearly 24.82 crore people moving out of multidimensional poverty. Improvements in education, healthcare, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, financial inclusion, and digital governance have further enhanced the effectiveness of poverty reduction strategies. Nevertheless, challenges such as unemployment, informal employment, regional disparities, income inequality, climate related risks, and unequal access to productive resources continue to hinder inclusive development. Sustainable poverty reduction therefore requires balanced economic growth, employment intensive industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, quality education, accessible healthcare, skill development, women's empowerment, and efficient implementation of welfare policies.