India may have reduced extreme poverty far more effectively than most of us are aware of. The last official data is eight years old. In 2011, 268 million people were surviving on less than $1.90 a day, the World Bank measure for extreme poverty. The next round of data on household consumption is likely to come out in June, and it may well show a drastic drop in the number of poor. According to the World Data Lab — which monitors global poverty using advanced statistical models — less than 50 million Indians may be living on less than $1.90 a day now. Economists said rapid economic growth and the use of technology for social sector programs have helped make a significant dent in extreme poverty in the country. The BJP on Monday cited global think tank reports to say that India is moving fast towards a povertyfree situation and gave credit to policies of the Narendra Modiled government for it. On this edition of the big picture we analyse what more needs to be done to eradicate poverty

Guests Abhinav Prakash, Assistant Professor, Delhi University,
K. A. Badarinath, EditorinChief, Financial Chronicle,
Ajay Dua, Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry,

Anchor Frank Rausan Pereira