'Reason why NDA govt wins trust': Sitharaman cites World Bank's poverty reduction findings

What happened: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited the World Bank's October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief, saying India recorded one of the fastest poverty declines globally, and credited government policies for the progress. Key numbers: Poverty rate fell from 57.7% to 16.1% between 2011 Why it matters: Sitharaman said the progress was the reason the NDA continued to enjoy public trust, and the remarks came amid a political exchange with Rahul Gandhi over the proposed sale of the government's 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank to Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings for about Rs 53,000 crore.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited the World Bank's October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief, saying India recorded one of the fastest poverty declines globally, and credited government policies for the progress.

Sitharaman said the progress was the reason the NDA continued to enjoy public trust, and the remarks came amid a political exchange with Rahul Gandhi over the proposed sale of the government's 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank to Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings for about Rs 53,000 crore.