Recent international data reveals that extreme poverty in India plummeted to 2.6% by 2023, while access to electricity expanded to 99% of the population. Simultaneously, political tensions have escalated over the administration's decision to privatize a majority stake in IDBI Bank for roughly Rs 53,000 crore. The opposition argues against divesting the newly profitable lender, but the government maintains the turnaround was achieved through over Rs 25,000 crore in state recapitalization following past mismanagement. The multi-billion-dollar stake sale to Fairfax Financial Holdings is slated to finalize by the end of the financial year.
Key points
The planned sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank awaits regulatory clearances from the Res…: The planned sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank awaits regulatory clearances from the Reserve Bank of India.
Rahul Gandhi opposed the privatization, citing employee conditions and the bank's recent…: Rahul Gandhi opposed the privatization, citing employee conditions and the bank's recent annual profit exceeding Rs 9,000 crore.
The government defended the transaction by highlighting over Rs 25,000 crore invested to…: The government defended the transaction by highlighting over Rs 25,000 crore invested to rescue the previously mismanaged lender.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
NEW DELHI: Finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday cited the World Bank's October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief, saying India had recorded one of the fastest declines in poverty globally.
She also credited the government's policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the progress, saying it was the reason the NDA continued to enjoy people's trust and mandate.
In a post on X, Sitharaman highlighted six key findings from the report, covering poverty reduction, employment growth, women's participation in the workforce, improvements in household welfare and access to electricity.
Sharing the findings, Sitharaman said, "The World Bank’s October 2026 Poverty & Equity Brief records India’s progress as one of the fastest poverty declines in the world."
The six key findings highlighted by the finance minister were:- Poverty reduction: 49.6 crore people moved above the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 a day between 2011 and 2023, with the poverty rate declining from 57.7% to 16.1%.
- Decline in extreme poverty: Extreme poverty declined from 27.1% to 2.6% over the same period, measured at $3 a day. Both monetary poverty thresholds use…
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