Published Paper Details:

Ever since the end of the Second World War, peace and development has captured the interest of scholars and academicians and along with it began the pressing problem of eradicating poverty. In the year 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Development Summit, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was passed by leaders of various states with the reduction of poverty as the primary goal. Approximately two decades after the passing of the MDGs, the poverty reduction initiative has achieved significant success across the globe under various initiatives of different governments. Between the years 1990 and 2000, over 1.06 billion people have been lifted out of poverty and the percentage of people living under extreme poverty have been reduced from 43 percent to 14 percent. This has been achieved through universal education, prevention and treatment of malaria and tuberculosis, provision of clean water, and improvement of slum conditions. In the year 2015, for the purpose of achieving common development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by various countries at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit that again laid its emphasis on the eradication of poverty as its primary goal. It is estimated that over 700 million people are still living in extreme conditions of poverty and developing countries are confronted with critical challenges of eradicating hunger, malnutrition, maternal and child health, as well as sustainable development. Progress in terms of poverty reduction remains unbalanced while the condition of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) has not seen any notable improvement. In this article, the objective would be to analyze the extent of poverty in the south Asian region. It would seek to analyze MDGs and SDGs in the context of poverty reduction in the south Asian context. Has globalization brought about a change in terms of poverty reduction in these countries? How has the human development program had its impact on poverty reduction in South Asia are initial questions that this article would seek to address? Following the initial remarks on poverty reduction, this essay would focus on the Chinese approach to poverty reduction. How and what has been the impact on poverty reduction in terms of the Belt and Road Initiative in the south Asian region and does China focus on poverty alleviation through its connectivity programs or regional cooperation mechanisms/initiatives are important questions that this article would seek to address.