Hey there, my curious friend! Let me tell you an interesting story about poverty in India. So, poverty means when people don’t have enough money to get the things they need to live a good life.

But guess what? The good news is that poverty in India has actually gone down! Isn’t that amazing?

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is like a group of really smart money people, poverty in India went down from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019. That’s a big drop, like jumping from the top of a slide to the bottom!

But here’s the funny part: it turns out that rural areas had a bigger drop in poverty than cities. Rural poverty went down by a whopping 14.7%, while urban poverty only went down by 7.9%. It’s like the countryside was doing a better job of saying goodbye to poverty!

Poverty’s Roller Coaster

• Now, let me introduce you to some more interesting characters in this story. There are two economists, Sutirtha Sinha Roy and Roy van der Weide, who wrote a research paper for the World Bank. That’s like a big library of information about money and economics.
• They looked at a survey that was done in 2011, where they asked people about their expenses and how much money they had. They found out that in the years between 2013 and 2019, farmers with small pieces of land made more money. Their incomes went up by 10%! It’s like their wallets were getting bigger and bigger.
• But here comes the twist in our story. The World Bank’s research paper also tells us that in 2016, urban poverty actually went up by 2%. Why? Well, there was something called demonetization that happened.
• No, it’s not like a magic trick with demons and coins. It means that the government made some changes to the money system, and it caused a little bump in poverty. It’s like a pothole on the road of progress.
• And wait, there’s more! In 2019, rural poverty went up by 10%. Uh-oh, that’s not good news. It caused the economy to slow down, like a turtle taking a nap. But hey, don’t worry too much. Sometimes the economy goes up and down like a roller coaster ride. It’s just important that we keep working together to help everyone have a better life.
• So, my little friend, that’s the curious tale of poverty in India. It’s like a game of snakes and ladders, with ups and downs. But remember, we’re all in this together, and we can make the world a better place by helping those in need. Keep asking questions and exploring the world around you, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll find a solution to poverty too!