World Bank report: Covid-19 pushed over 56 million Indians into poverty in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, disrupting global economic activity, upsetting many lives, and bringing industry to a near stop.

According to the World Bank's most recent report, the pandemic in 2020 may have caused 71 million people worldwide to fall into extreme poverty. And out of these, about 79 per cent came from India.

According to the report "Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022," the pandemic was a significant setback for global poverty. As a result, the rate of extreme poverty rose globally, rising from 8.4 per cent in 2019 to 9.3 per cent in 2020.

Over 700 million people worldwide will be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2020, down from 71 million at the start of the year.

The World Bank claims that the most populous nations were the main cause of the rise in global poverty. According to the report, India was responsible for 56 million of the 71 million increase in the number of people living in poverty.

It did, however, draw attention to the fact that China, although being the most populous nation, did not make a significant contribution to the rise in global poverty in 2020. In 2020, the nation underwent a mild economic shock. However, the research said that India's economy pronouncedly contracted in 2020.

The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private data company, performed the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS), which provided the data for the report.

Since the Indian government hasn't issued official data on poverty since 2011, the CPHS data was utilised to assess poverty. According to the report, "given the size and significance of the country for global and regional poverty estimates, the CPHS data help fill an essential gap."

According to the analysis, new obstacles to reducing poverty will emerge in 2022 as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, China's slowing economy, and rising food and energy prices.