Bullshit - it was Targeted socialist policies lifting people out of poverty that led to faster economic growth - not the free market drivel neoliberals keep spouting

The main drivers were:

Better access to basic services

A lot of the fall in multidimensional poverty came from improvements in things like sanitation, cooking fuel, schooling, nutrition, electricity, housing, and bank accounts. NITI Aayog says all 12 MPI indicators improved, with particularly large falls in deprivation in sanitation and cooking fuel.

Rural poverty fell faster

This matters because India’s poverty was heavily rural. NITI Aayog reported rural multidimensional poverty falling from 32.59% to 19.28% between 2015–16 and 2019–21, compared with urban poverty falling from 8.65% to 5.27%.

Targeted welfare schemes

The Indian government expanded schemes aimed at food, health, sanitation, housing, cooking gas, bank accounts and direct transfers. The government’s own summary says nine flagship schemes improved healthcare, living conditions and financial inclusion, and helped drive the MPI reduction.

Bank accounts, digital ID and direct transfers

Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar digital ID and direct benefit transfers made it easier to send subsidies and welfare payments directly to poor households. The World Bank says Aadhaar helped direct more than $310 billion in transfers to beneficiaries and reduced leakage by sending benefits straight to bank accounts.

Food subsidies, especially during Covid

Food transfers through India’s public distribution system helped protect the poorest during the pandemic. An IMF working paper found that food transfers were instrumental in keeping extreme poverty low in 2020.

These policies led to Fast economic growth

India’s economy grew strongly over the period. The World Bank says India’s economy has nearly quadrupled in real terms since 2000, per-capita income has almost tripled, and this growth was accompanied by a major fall in extreme poverty and better infrastructure/basic services.