PM Modi shared World Bank poverty findings on Instagram, calling the decline historic.
India's extreme poverty rate fell from 27.1 per cent in 2011 to 2.6 per cent in 2023.
The BJP credited sustained policy efforts under Modi with reducing poverty and expanding financial inclusion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared a carousel of findings from the World Bank’s latest report on poverty in India, highlighting the decline in extreme poverty and describing it as a result of the government’s commitment to poverty alleviation.
Sharing the carousel on Instagram, Modi wrote, “A historic fall in poverty. A generational rise in opportunity.”
One of the slides in the carousel carried the message: “‘Gareebi Hatao’ was never a slogan for us. It is our commitment…”
The World Bank report noted that India’s extreme poverty rate fell from 27.1% in 2011 to 2.6% in 2023, with an estimated 496 million people lifted out of poverty.
What The World Bank Report Says
The report, titled India Poverty and Equity Brief: October 2026, said the estimates were based on the lower-middle-income country poverty threshold of $4.20 per day and the extreme poverty threshold of $3 per day, measured at 2021 purchasing power parity (PPP).
It also noted that India had made progress in reducing poverty across monetary and non-monetary dimensions over the past decade, recording “one of the fastest poverty declines” in the world.
BJP Credits Modi Government's Policies
Earlier on Saturday, the BJP said the World Bank findings reflected the impact of sustained policy efforts undertaken by the Modi government.
BJP national media convenor Ashish Usha Agarwal described the findings as evidence of “a New India, moving towards prosperity with inclusive growth”.
Citing the report in a post on X, Agarwal said India’s extreme poverty had declined from 27.6% to below 2.6%, while the share of the population living below the lower-middle-income poverty line had fallen from 57.7% to 16.1%.
He said the progress reflected sustained policy efforts and the expanding reach of development initiatives across the country, calling it a “remarkable milestone” in India's journey towards inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
“Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, India's development journey has placed poverty alleviation, financial inclusion and improved living standards at the centre of governance,” Agarwal added.
