The world bank describes poverty as: Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter.

Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Two ways of poverty Relative poverty Relative Poverty refers to the Income or Asset Position of one Class or Group of People in comparison with the other Classes or Groups, or of one Individual visavis the Others. Absolute Poverty It is associated with a Minimum Level of Living or Minimum Consumption Requirements of Food, Clothing, Housing, Health, etc. Poverty Measurements Expenditure method Under this the minimum food requirements for survival is estimated. The food value is converted into calories. The caloric value of food is then converted into the money value i.e. in rupees. The total equivalent amount is considered as the poverty line. Income method This method is used by the government while distributing food through PDS at the local level. Under this a poverty line is fixed by the government. All the families whose total income is less than the poverty line fixed by the government are considered as BPL. Poverty Line is drawn on the basis of Expenditure that is necessary to Secure the Minimum Acceptable Living Standard for Work & Efficiency. In India, the Minimum Calories intake of a Person has been put at 2,400 in Rural Area & 2,100 in Urban Areas. Government defined a Person with an Income of Less than Rs.368 (Rural) & Rs.559 (Urban) per month as living below Poverty Line. Causes of Poverty Caste System Heavy Pressure Of Population Unemployment Illiteracy Indias Economic Policy UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP in India has been dedicated to improve the lives of the poorest since 1951 UNDP works towards accelerating progress of human development within the framework of the Government of Indias(GOI) 11 th five year plan, and supports the government to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in India. The Government of India - UNDP India Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) is developed every five years. UNDP like other UN agencies in India - works in the seven states that score the lowest on the Human Development Indicators in India, namely Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. In these geographic areas, UNDP has different levels and targets of intervention. UNDPs CPAP 2008 2012 has a commitment for US$ 250 Million (US$ 50 Million a year). MDG The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were developed out of the eight chapters of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed by 191 nations, in September 2000. MDGs help focus national and international priority setting as goals and targets are limited in number, stable over time, and being communicate easily to a broad audience. 8 mutually reinforcing time-bound development goals and related targets for progressively eradicating poverty

Goal 1:

On the whole, rural and urban poverty ratios tend to run parallel to each other in the coming years with a gap of about 5 percentage points separating them. While urban poverty is likely to converge to the target level in 2015, the rural poverty is likely to fall short of target level of 2015 by about 5-6 percentage points.

Goal 2

For primary grade

Goal 3

Goal 4

Goal 5

Goal 7

INDIA: FAST Facts Population 1.03 billion Urban 28% rural 72% Women 48.26% 27.5% population lives below the national poverty line1 Ranks 134 out of 182 countries as per global 2009 Human Development Index 42% population is below Purchasing Power Parity of USD1.25/day 49% of poor are women 9.24% women hold Parliamentary seats 2.27million estimated to be living with HIV Carbon emitted per capita: 1.20 metric tonne 66% of total population is literate Sources: Census 2001, 11th Five-Year Plan, Govt. expenditure (% of total expenditure): Education: 10.1% Health: 4.9% Defence: 14.8% % of people in social groups below national poverty line Scheduled Caste: 36.8% Scheduled Tribe: 47.2% Other Backward Castes: 26.7% Muslims: 31% (SCR 2006) Schemes NREGA Amt. from the Budget put into the scheme: Rs.2,4847.79 crore (FY 2009-10) Wage range across states: from Rs.65 (Arunachal Pradesh) to Rs.140 (Chandigarh)

 No. of women registered: 52% (2009-10) Social Mobilization project 64,000 women organized into 4,300 self-help groups Some groups came together to form larger cooperatives and producer companies to form value-chain networks Poverty alleviation programs india Integrated Rural Development Programme/Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP),has provided assistance to rural poor in the form of subsidy and bank credit for productive employment opportunities through successive plan periods. Subsequently, Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), Supply of Improved Tool Kits to Rural Artisans (SITRA) and Ganga Kalyan Yojana (GKY) were introduced as sub-programmes of IRDP to take care of the specific needs of the rural population.
Wage Employment Programmes

Wage employment programmes, an important component of the anti-poverty strategy, have sought to achieve multiple objectives. They not only provide employment opportunities during lean agricultural seasons but also in times of floods, droughts and other natural calamities. They create rural infrastructure which supports further economic activity. These programmes also put an upward pressure on market wage rates by attracting people to public works programmes, thereby reducing labour supply and pushing up demand for labour.

Food for Work Programme The programme aims at augmenting food security through wage employment. Food grains are supplied to states free of cost. Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)
Given the complementarity of the JGSY, EAS and Food for Work Programme, all of which aim at the creation of employment opportunities in the rural areas, they were revamped and merged under the new Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) scheme from September 2001. The basic aim of the scheme continues to be generation of wage employment, creation of durable economic infrastructure in rural areas and provision of food and nutrition security to the poor.

Rural Housing the IAY is the core programme for providing free housing to BPL families in rural areas and targets SC/STs households and freed bonded labourers. Social Security Programmes (NSAP), launched in August 1995 marks a significant step towards fulfillment of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The NSAP has three components:

 National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS); National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS); National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). Government Programmes For Poverty Alleviation Pradhan Mantri Gramoday Yojana (PMGY) Launched in December, 2000 to provide Road Connectivity through good all weather roads to all the eligible unconnected habitations in the Rural Areas by the end of Tenth Plan. Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) Major Scheme for construction of Houses to be given to the Poor, Free of Cost. Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana(SGSY) Launched in 2001. Aims at i. Providing Wage Employment in Rural Areas ii. Food Security iii. Creation of Durable Community, Social & Economic Assets. Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) & Jawahar Gram Sammridhi Yojana (JGSY) were merged since April, 2002. National Food For Work Programme Launched in November, 2004 in 150 backward Districts of the Country with the objective of providing more Opportunities of Wage Employment & ensuring certain Minimum Nutritional Levels for Rural Poor. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) Launched in 2001 to facilitate the construction and upgradation of Dwelling Units for the Slum Dwellers & Provides a Healthy & Enabling Urban Environment through Community Toilets. The Swaran Jayanti Shahkari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) Came into operation from December, 1997 submerging the three earlier Urban Poverty Alleviation Programmes viz., Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY), Urban Basic Services Programmes (UBSB) & Prime Minister Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme(PMIUPEP). Seeks to provide Employment to the Urban Unemployed or Under Employed Poor by encouraging the setting up of Selfemployment Ventures or Provisions of Wage Employment.

China HDI rank 92 Population 1.3 billion 2.8% population lives below the national poverty line1 Ranks 134 out of 182 countries as per global 2009 Human Development Index 16% population is below Purchasing Power Parity of USD1.25/day 94% of total population is literate When we compare the problem of rural poverty in China with that of India, three important propositions can be made. First, China has made much progress in solving its economic problem of poverty as compared with India. Second, in India the problem of income inequality and relative rural poverty does not exist because there has been no rapid economic growth in certain regions, at least until 2003. Third, the abuse of power by local officials and the resulting discontent of the rural population is not a serious problem in India. Rural poverty in china in selected years

Poverty alleviation program In addition to preferential financial policies, such as tax reductions and increased financial assistance, the central government has promoted two main types of anti-poverty programmes: 1. public work programmes to improve infrastructure in poor areas. 2. The provision of credits to stimulate investment in poor areas. Poverty in China is mainly rural in terms of location, regional in respect of resources and the environment, and agricultural in terms of sector. the poverty reduction policy introduced through the current reforms has placed special emphasis on the idea that existing potential should be tapped. This is accomplished through public works, or Yigongdaizhen (which in Chinese means 'to offer jobs instead of relief).- the in-kind goods allocated by the central government must be distributed as wages. Local governments are supposed to raise supplementary funds of an equal or

greater amount in order to pay for project materials and cover other expences. Local governments have mobilized rural residents to furnish part of their labour free of charge or at reduced wages. The Yigong-daizhen programme has been designed to alleviate rural poverty in specific regions. However, the programme does not directly target the poorest segments of the population. The primary purpose of the projects is to improve infrastructure and social services in poor regions and create the proper conditions for regional economic growth. Thus, the long-term goal of economic growth has taken precedence over the short-term goal of increasing job opportunities and the supplementary income of the poor. Within the poor regions, the projects are focused on village communities, that is, administrative villages, and not on rural households or individuals. During the implementation of the projects, the village communities are responsible for the mobilization of the labour force. Yigong-daizhen projects now cover not only road building, farmland and water conservation, and the construction of infrastructure, but also reforestation, the renovation of rural post offices, rural purchase and supply cooperatives (gong xiao she), health and sanitation centres, old schoolhouses, and so on Credit Program The first priority of the credit programmes has been to achieve food security for the poor. Thus, about 1 billion yuan were given as credits to support a project organized by the Ministry of Agriculture for the extension of a special hybrid maize growing technique. The central government has set two standards to gauge the success of the credit programmes. One is the food security line, and the other is the level of the repayment of loans. The special subsidized credits are issued by the Agriculture Bank, but the funds are provided annually by the central bank, that is, the People's Bank. When the credits are paid back, the repayments are supposed to be made to the People's Bank. The support of the central bank has apparently strengthened the liquidity of poor areas and thereby promoted local economies.