GLIMS Journal of Management Review and Transformation
Hiranmayee Debi1
, Susmita Devi1 and Pranesh Debnath1
1Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India
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Despite robust macroeconomic growth in recent decades, India continues to grapple with deep-rooted socioeconomic deprivations, underscoring the need for comprehensive measurement of multidimensional poverty (MP) to understand the true extent of human well-being across its diverse populations. This study examines the evolving socio-spatial dynamics and temporal shifts of MP across India’s states and Union Territories. Utilising secondary data from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS-4, 2015-2016 and NFHS-5, 2019-2021), the objective is to evaluate regional variations and rural-urban disparities by measuring the headcount ratio (HR), poverty intensity (PI), and the multidimensional poverty index (MPI). Methodologically, the analysis employs descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and independent one-way ANOVA models. The findings reveal significant macro-level progress, marked by substantial national declines across all three poverty metrics. However, deep-seated regional imbalances remain highly persistent, with acute MP heavily concentrated within the East, Central, and North East Zones. Furthermore, while rural populations exhibit a significantly higher incidence of poverty, the depth and intensity of deprivation among the poor are statistically equivalent across rural and urban sectors, indicating that urban pockets harbour severe structural deprivations comparable to those in rural areas. These findings offer vital policy implications by providing empirical evidence against a one-size-fits-all welfare approach and underscoring the necessity for localised, region-specific, and spatially optimised anti-poverty strategies. The originality of this research lies in its empirical capacity to separate poverty incidence from intensity across the rural-urban dichotomy over time.
Multidimensional poverty index, headcount ratio, poverty intensity, national family health survey, rural–urban disparity
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