The Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said, the rate of reduction in poverty in five years between 2004-05 and 2009-10 is about 1.5 percentage points per year. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Mr Ahluwalia said, the Commission was asked by the Court to update the poverty line. Mr Ahluwalia said the lowering of the poverty line is as per the latest consumer survey.
Mr. Ahluwalia said, the rate of reduction was higher than average in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
Planning Commission has released the estimates on Monday, saying that poverty in the country has declined by 7.3 per cent from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10. The report says, total number of poor in the country has been estimated at 34.47 crore in 2009-10, as against 40.72 crore in 2004-05.