KATHMANDU, Feb. 13 -- Around 6 million Nepalis struggle to make up basic needs

A total of 20.27 percent of Nepalis are living under the poverty line, down by 4.93 percentage points compared to 12 years ago.

The report entitled 'Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS)-IV' unveiled by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday shows that 20.27 percent of the population are in Multidimensional Poverty. The figure was 25.2 percent in the Nepal Living Standards Survey-III held in 2010/11.

Based on the population size of 29,164,000, a total of 5.911 million people have been living below the poverty line.

Min Bahadur Shrestha, vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission, said the poverty rate has not declined as per the expectation. "...