New Delhi, June 8 -- Last week, the World Bank announced a new poverty line to decide how many people worldwide live in "extreme poverty". The new threshold is higher than the previous one even in inflation-adjusted terms. That means many more people globally will suddenly find themselves below that benchmark and now be counted as "poor".

However, for India, the estimate has been revised downwards. That's because it's not all about the poverty line itself - other factors are at play, too. Also, 5.3% of Indians are poor by one measure, and 23.9% by another. Let's unpack all this.

The poverty line is a minimum level of spending needed to meet one's basic nutrition, clothing and shelter needs. The number of people who cannot afford even th...