India extreme poverty falls to 2.6%, World Bank says

India’s extreme poverty rate fell from 27.1% in 2011-12 to 2.6% in 2023-24, while the share living below the World Bank’s lower-middle-income poverty line dropped to 16.1% from 57.7%, according to the bank’s October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief. The bank estimates that 496 million people moved above the $4.20-a-day threshold during the period. The two measures use separate poverty lines, both based on 2021 purchasing power parity. The $3-a-day threshold defines extreme poverty, while $4.20 a day is the World Bank’s benchmark for lower-middle-income countries. The bank’s estimates show substantial reductions in both measures, but crossing one threshold does not necessarily mean a household is economically secure. The report attributed the declines to stronger consumption, rising employment, particularly among women, and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies. Employment grew by about 134 million between 2017 and 2023, nearly twice the increase in the working-age population, according to the bank. Much of that growth came from rural women entering paid work. The gains have not eliminated substantial differences in earnings or job quality. Median earnings among...