The Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on 22 July 2024.
The expenditure on social services has increased from 6.7 % of GDP in 2017-18 to 7.8 % of GDP in 2023-24.
The enhanced economic thrust along with better implementation of programmes has led to a sharp decline of Multidimensional Poverty with (National) Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) nearly halving from 0.117 in 2015-16 to 0.066 in 2019-21.
Resultantly, 13.5 crore Indians are estimated to have escaped multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
The results of various initiatives in the social sector have translated into reduced inequality. The Gini coefficient has declined from 0.283 to 0.266 for the rural sector and from 0.363 to 0.314 for the urban sector in the past decade.
Similarly, the rural-urban divide has also declined considerably, as the difference between rural and urban monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) declined from 83.9 % in 2011-12 to 71.2 % in 2022-23.
