Empirical Validation of the Digvijay Poverty Measure: Evidence from India's Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24

Abstract

Poverty measurement plays an important role in identifying deprived populations and designing effective policy interventions. Traditional poverty measures such as the Headcount Ratio, Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) indices, and Sen Poverty Measure provide useful information on different dimensions of poverty; however, their sensitivity to severe deprivation varies. This study presents an empirical evaluation of the Digvijay Poverty Measure using data from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023–24 of India. The analysis is based on Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) and employs a relative poverty line defined as 50% of the weighted median MPCE. Poverty estimates are obtained at the national, rural–urban, and state levels and are compared with conventional poverty measures. The results show that the proposed measure is consistent with existing measures in identifying high- and low-poverty regions while providing greater sensitivity to severe deprivation through its deprivation parameter. The rural–urban analysis reveals substantially higher poverty in rural areas, and the state-wise analysis highlights significant regional disparities. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrates the robustness of the measure across alternative poverty thresholds. The findings suggest that the Digvijay Poverty Measure offers a flexible framework for poverty assessment and provides additional insights into the depth and severity of poverty in India.