Access to fuel, sanitation, power better in 2019-20: NITI Aayog report

Over 40% Indians continue to depend on dung, coal, etc, for cooking fuel; 30% do not have access to proper toilets

Cooking fuel, sanitation, and electricity are three counts on which the deprivation rate among Indians fell during 2019-20 over 2014-15, according to a recent report on multidimensional poverty by the NITI Aayog.

Even then, over 40 per cent of the population had to depend on dung, agricultural crops, shrubs, wood, charcoal, or coal as cooking fuel during 2019-20, according to the first ever report on the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) by the Aayog.

Also, close to 30 per cent of the population did not have a proper sanitation facility including toilet at home during 2019-20, showed the data provided in the report.