Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam: 'Sharp reduction in poverty level, down to 5%'

The latest household consumption expenditure survey by the statistics office revealed robust rural consumption, closing the gap with urban areas. Niti Aayog CEO, B V R Subrahmanyam, suggests that these numbers could lead to a significant reduction in the country's poverty level, possibly reaching 5% or lower. Subrahmanyam noted that rural deprivation appears to have nearly vanished based on the data. The survey's findings could influence the setting of interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) due to the lower share of food and cereals in the retail inflation index. The CEO asserted that the data dispels any doubts about the state of the rural economy. Poverty levels are determined using consumption expenditure data, sparking a contentious debate about the actual number of poor in the country. The released data is the latest available since 2011-12, as the 2017-18 data was not made public.