Consider the following statements about Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI):
- 1.MPI is calculated using Alkire-Foster methodology.
- 2.MPI calculated by NITI Aayog has a total of twelve indicators.
- 3.Maternal Health and Bank Account are common indicators in the MPI of NITI Aayog and MPI of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Both the global MPI and India's national MPI are built on the Alkire–Foster counting method, and India's national MPI has twelve indicators. But Maternal Health and Bank Account are India's own additions to the ten global indicators, so they are not shared with the UNDP index.
- ✓ 1. NITI Aayog says the national MPI retains the Alkire–Foster methodology developed with OPHI and UNDP, the same counting method used for the global MPI.
- ✓ 2. India's national MPI has three equally weighted dimensions (health, education, standard of living) measured through 12 indicators.
- ✗ 3. The national MPI keeps the ten global indicators and adds Maternal Health and Bank Accounts on top, in line with national priorities. These two therefore appear only in NITI Aayog's index, not in UNDP's global MPI.
Remember · India's national MPI (NITI Aayog): Alkire–Foster method, 3 dimensions, 12 indicators = the 10 global ones plus Maternal Health and Bank Account.
Sources
- NITI Aayog: National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023 ↗ “The national MPI model retains the ten indicators of the global MPI model, staying closely aligned to the global methodology. It also adds two indicators, viz., Maternal Health and Bank Accounts in line with national priorities. … It also retains the robust Alkire-Foster methodology developed by our technical partners, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).”
- PIB: Explainer Note on National Multidimensional Poverty Index ↗ “The MPI score is computed by scoring each sampled household in a given State or district on all 12 indicators simultaneously.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·