"India's poverty lies in the eyes of the beholder." In light of this statement, examine the need for a credible and periodically updated poverty estimation framework in the country.

Current poverty estimation framework 1) National MPI by Niti Aayog → Health, Education, Standard of living as pillars of Multidimensional poverty → Incidence x Intensity = Index 2) Tendulkar Committee methodology 3) NSO surveys like Household Consumption Expenditure survey HCES 4) Indirectly by PLFS. 5) SECC 2011: for NFSA BPL population

Need for credible and updated framework 1) Multiplicity of surveys → lack coherence & duplication of efforts. 2) Hidden factors need to be measured: Inequality gender, Opportunity, Skills 3) Evidence based policy making → for NFSA, Ayushman Bharat Yojna 4) In alignment with International Standards → WB poverty line 5) To measure outcomes of policy (eg: MNREGA on poverty reduction) "Visibility in data is the 1st step towards meaningful inclusion" - K. Ashok Vaudhan

— Madhvendra Pratap Singh · AIR 153