Re-assessing the Incidence of Poverty and Policy Crisis in Assam: An Empirical Analysis of Char and Plain Areas

NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) reveals the poverty rate in the Indian state of Assam is about 14.5 percent which is more than double of the national average in 2022-23. However, the study shows the ground reality is entirely different both in terms of magnitude and incidence. Based on primary data of 450 households covering 31 villages including both Char and Plain areas, the study measures headcount ratio (HCR), poverty gap (PG), squared gap (SG), Sen index, and Sen-Shorroks-Thon (SST) index, at purchasing power parity (PPP) poverty lines of 2017, 2022, and 2025. Besides, the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficients are also used to analyze the income distribution. The major conclusions are that Assam consistently suffers in dire poverty practically showing all households below the global poverty line (HCR = 0.996). In addition, the level of poverty and its severity are growing as time goes on and the poverty gap ratio (PGR) is growing to 0.761 and the squared poverty gap ratio (SPGR) to 0.592. There is also a significant increase in the Sen and SST indices, which indicates the exacerbated poverty crisis. Notably, the measures of poverty indicate insignificant regional inequalities. Conversely, the income inequality is different: Char households have a homogenous low Gini coefficient of 0.203, and Plain areas have a larger Gini of 0.301, which represents different income distributions on an identical low-income background. These findings indicate that the issue of poverty in Assam is extensive and increasingly becoming worse, which means that prior interventions have been insufficient. It is recommended to use a multi-layered, customized policy that would involve both short-term aid in the form of cash transfers and food aid and long-term investment in infrastructure, education, and health amenities. The solution of resilience infrastructures and climate-adaptation in Char localities and social programs that would embrace marginalized people in the plains are crucial and region-specific. Such a holistic, place-sensitive approach is thus considered essential in alleviating poverty in Assam setting.

Masud Ul Haque1 and Abdur Rashid Ahmed*2 Click here to download file

Research Article | Published online : 23-May-2026