The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a tool
The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is a tool used by countries to measure and monitor poverty not just by income, but through multiple deprivations that people experience simultaneously. These deprivations can include health, education, living standards, and more. Unlike traditional poverty measures that focus solely on income, the MPI gives a broader and more comprehensive view of poverty.
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🔍 What is the National MPI?
The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (National MPI) is:
• Country-specific: Designed by a national government or statistical office to reflect the local context, priorities, and available data.
• Multi-dimensional: Looks beyond income to capture multiple overlapping deprivations.
• Policy-oriented: Helps governments target interventions and track progress across regions and groups.
• Adapted from the Global MPI, developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the UNDP, but tailored for domestic use.
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📊 Common Dimensions in a National MPI
Each country may design its own MPI, but they often include the following dimensions and indicators:
Dimension Common Indicators
Health Nutrition, child mortality, access to care
Education Years of schooling, school attendance
Living Standards Electricity, sanitation, drinking water, housing, cooking fuel, assets
Employment Unemployment, informal work (optional)
Security Violence, displacement (in some countries)
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🌍 Examples from Specific Countries
• India: Uses 3 dimensions – Health, Education, and Standard of Living, with 12 indicators (based on NFHS data)
🧮 How is the MPI calculated?
MPI = Incidence of Poverty (H) × Intensity of Deprivation (A)
• H (Headcount ratio): percentage of people who are multidimensionally poor.
• A (Average intensity): Average percentage of deprivations experienced by poor people.
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✅ Uses of National MPI
• Policy design and evaluation
• Targeting social protection
• Monitoring SDGs, especially Goal 1: No Poverty
• Identifying regional or group inequalities
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📈 Why is it important?
The National MPI provides a more accurate and human-centered picture of poverty, enabling governments to:
• Understand who is poor and how,
• Break the cycle of poverty through targeted policies,
• Allocate resources efficiently, and
• Track progress toward development goals.
✅ What is India’s NMPI and how is it measured?
• India’s NMPI uses the methodology developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) — specifically the Alkire‑Foster (AF) method (incidence × intensity of deprivation). 
• It covers 12 indicators across three dimensions: Health, Education, and Standard of Living. 
• Some of the indicators include: nutrition, child and adolescent mortality / maternal health (in health), years of schooling, school attendance (in education), cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets (in standard of living). 
• A household/person is considered multidimensionally poor if they are deprived in at least a certain weighted threshold of indicators (the “dual‐cutoff” approach). 
• The NMPI is computed as MPI = H × A, where:
• H = the headcount ratio (share of population who are multidimensionally poor)
• A = the average intensity of deprivation (average share of deprivations among the poor)

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📊 What do recent numbers show for India?
Here are some of the latest headline figures:
• For survey period National Family Health Survey ‑ 5 (NFHS‑5, 2019‑21):
• Headcount (H) ≈ 14.96percent of the population are multidimensionally poor. 
• Intensity (A) ≈ 44.39percent. 
• MPI = 0.066 (in that calculation) for NFHS‑5. 
• For earlier survey period NFHS‑4 (2015‑16):
• H ≈ 24.85percent. 
• A ≈ 47.14percent . 
• MPI ≈ 0.117. 
• More widely: According to global MPI profiles (using the same methodology) India’s headcount was estimated at 16.4percent (based on 2019‑21 data) with MPI value ≈ 0.069. 
🧮 Some key take‐aways
• The proportion of people multidimensionally poor has declined sharply from ~24.85percent in 2015‑16 to ~14.96percent in 2019‑21. 
• All 12 indicators in the index showed improvement between the two survey rounds. 
• Rural vs Urban—there remains a big disparity:
• In rural areas: headcount in NFHS‑5 ≈ 19.28percent vs ~32.59percent in NFHS‑4. 
• In urban areas: headcount in NFHS‑5 ≈ 5.27percent vs ~8.65percent in NFHS‑4. 
• Some state‐level disparities: for example, states such as Bihar and Jharkhand have higher proportions of multidimensional poverty. 
🔝 States with the highest incidence of multidimensional poverty
• Bihar recorded the highest head‑count ratio at 33.76percent of its population classified as multidimensionally poor in the period 2019‑21. 
• Jharkhand follows next with 28.81percent in 2019‑21. 
• Madhya Pradesh had 20.63percent in 2019‑21. 
https://youtube.com/shorts/n3MQL9ZIcMg?si=rWvZkieTDuauQJWB
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