POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE

Poverty is the one of the most difficult challenges faced by independent india.roughly 260
million (or 26 crore) people in India live in poverty. This also means that India has the largest
single concentration of the poor in the world.
Around 25000 people die every day of hunger or hunger related causes, according to the UN and
most of them are children. Though there is plenty of food in the world for everyone but due to
lack of money to buy people are malnourished, they become weak and often sick. This makes
them increasingly less able to work.
Dimensions of poverty: poverty is looked through by various indicators like illiteracy level,
lack of health care , lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation
etc.
Social exclusion; it is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from
fecilities, benefits and opportunities that other rich people enjoy.
Vulnerability: vulnerability is poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of
certain communities or individuals of becoming or remaining poor in the coming years.
The present methodology of poverty estimation takes into account a minimum subsistence
level of living rather than a reasonable level of living. With the spread of irrigation and green
revolution, many job opportunities were created in the agriculture sector but its effects were
limited to some parts of India.
The poverty line is estimated periodically (normally every five years)by conducting sample
surveys .these surveys are carries out by the national sample survey organization(NSSO)
1.Define poverty.
Poverty may be defined as inability to satisfy minimum human needs concerning food, clothing
shelter and education.
2.Who is a poor?
Any person who is deprived of food, clothes, shelter, education, health care and economic
activities is a poor.
3.Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty in india .
Social groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are SC, STs households.similarly, among the
economic groups, the most vulneragle groups are the rural agriculcural labour households and
the urban casual labour house holds.

Apart from this groups, women consisting of widows , orphans, physically handicapped, old
people are also vulnerable to poverty.
4.Describe of poverty trends in India since 1973.

year

1973-74
1993-94
19922000

Poverty
ratio
Rural
56.4
37.3
27.1

No of poor in million
urban
49
32.4
23.6

Combined
54.9
36
26.1

Rural
261
244
193

urban
60
76
67

combined
321
320
260

Estimates of poverty in india.

Table showing poverty trends in India since 1973.

It may be observed from the table that over all poverty ratio which was approximately 55% of
the population in 1973-74 decline 36% in 1993-94 and 26% in 1999-2000.As regards number
of poor which was in 321 million in 1973-74 declined to 260 million in 1999-2000.{30 CRORE
IN 2010}
5.Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India?
Poverty line:- The imaginary line dividing poor and non poor on the basis of per capital income
and expenditure is known as poverty line.
The common method used to measure poverty is based on the income or consumption levels.
While determining povery line in India a minimum level of food requirement, clothing, fuel,
foot wear, light educational and medical requirements are taken in to consideration. The present
formulae for food requirement is based upon calories .The accepted average calorie requirement
in India is 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories per person per day in
urban areas..in monetary terms it is valued as Rs 673 per month for Rural and Rs 860 for urban
people.

6.Describe the global poverty trends:According to the world bank, people living on less than $1 per day has declined from 28 % in
1990 to 21% in 2001.poverty declined substantially in china and southeast asian countries as a
result of rapid economic development and massive investments in human resource
development.in countries of south asia (india, Pakistan, srilanka , Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan)

The decline has not been as rapid despite decline in % of the poor, the no of poor has declined
marginally from 475 million in 1981 to 428 million in 2001.

Poverty comparison among some selected countries

Country
Nigeria
Bangladesh
India
Pak
China
Brazil
Indonesia
Srilanka

% of population below $1.25 a day

64
50
42
23
16
8.2
19
7

The proportion of people in developing countries living in extreme poverty defined by the
world bank as living less than $1 per day has declined 28 to 21 % in 2001.

7.Describe current govt strategy of the poverty alleviation?

The current anti poverty strategy of the govt is based broadly on two planks :
Promotion of economic growth ;
Targeted anti poverty programmes:-The first and most impt element for removal of poverty is
the acceleration of economic growth. National income should increase at rates faster than
increase in population.
National rural employment guarantee act (NREGA)
The act was passed in sep 2005 .the act provides 200 days assured emplyt every year every rural
house hold.
NATIONAL FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAMME.(NFWP)
This programme is open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment and desire to do
manual unskilled work.
PRIME MINISTER ROZGAR YOGANA(PMRY)

RURAL EMPLOYEMENT GENERATION PROGRAMME.

SWARNA JAYANTHI GRAM SWAROZGAR YOYANA (SGSY)
PRADHAN MANTRI GRAMODAYA YOJANA(PMGY)
ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA.
Absolute poverty:- people having lesser than the minimum level of diet which is 2400 colories
in rural and 2100 calories in urban areas are caught in absolute poverty.In terms of money, Rs
328 and Rs 454 per person, per month respectively in rural and urban areas.
Relative poverty:Poverty measured on the basis of std of living of the people, which has different level in
different places in known as relative poverty.
8.Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.
a)The policies of the colonial govt ruined traditional handicrafts .the low rate of growth
continued until the nineteen eighties resulted in less job opportunities and low growth rate of
incomes.
b)the Indian administrations failed at two fronts-promotion of economic growth and population
control which perpetuated the cycle of poverty.
c) With the spread of irrigation and green revolution, many job opportunities were created in the
agriculture sector but its effects were limited to some parts of India. The industries, both pvt and
public sectors, did provide some job, but these were not enough to absorb all the job seekers.
d)small farmers need money to buy agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers etc.They forced
to borrow and become victims of indebtedness.