India, Oct. 31 -- India's poverty rate, measured against the World Bank's $4.20-a-day poverty line, is projected to decline from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028, according to the lender's latest Poverty and Equity Brief. The bank attributed the projected decline to household consumption, employment growth and welfare transfers.

The report estimates that the proportion of Indians living below the $4.20-a-day threshold fell from 57.7% in 2011 to 16.1% in 2023, lifting around 496 million people out of poverty. At the $3-a-day extreme-poverty threshold, the share declined from 27.1% to 2.6% during the same period.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed the findings, saying the government's sustained policy efforts were yielding t...