Child Poverty and Deprivation

Understanding child poverty is crucial as it directly impacts the well-being and future prospects of a society. Addressing this issue is essential as children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poverty. This chapter examines the multidimensional poverty and deprivation experienced by children in India, focusing on the under-five and adolescent (15-19 years) age groups. Data is sourced from the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-4 & NFHS-5) and the analysis is based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Multidimensional Overlapping Deprivation Approach (MODA). By adopting a life-cycle perspective, our study uncovers distinct challenges faced by each of the age groups. Findings indicate that children aged 0-5 encounter higher levels of multidimensional deprivation compared to their adolescent counterparts. The MODA approach, which is tailored to age-specific needs, highlights the need to address issues like malnutrition and health deprivation in the under-five age group and education and housing deprivation among adolescent.