When did NITI Aayog prepare the baseline version of the Multidimensional…

Concept: The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures poverty across three equally weighted dimensions — health, education, and standard of living — using the Alkire-Foster method, originally developed by UNDP/OPHI for the Global MPI. NITI Aayog adapted this method to construct a National MPI for India, tracked periodically using National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data.

Application: NITI Aayog released India's first National MPI report — the baseline edition — in 2021, using National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4, 2015-16) data to compute the reference poverty values across all 12 indicators (nutrition, child mortality, maternal health, schooling, sanitation, housing, etc.) for every state and district.

Cross-check (why each other year is wrong):

• 2025 — no National MPI report has been published in this year.

• 2022 — no baseline or update edition of the index falls in this year.

• 2023 — this is when NITI Aayog released its second National MPI publication, a progress-review report built on newer NFHS-5 (2019-21) data comparing outcomes against the baseline — not the baseline year itself.

Result: The baseline version of the National MPI for India was therefore prepared and released in 2021.