Poverty in India

Q1. Define poverty.

POVERTY is a CONDITION of being UNABLE TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS necessary for HUMAN WELL-BEING — including food, shelter, clothing, health, education, dignity, and meaningful participation in society. POVERTY can be: (1) ABSOLUTE — Lack of resources to meet a FIXED MINIMUM standard (Indian approach; defined by poverty line); (2) RELATIVE — Inability to maintain STANDARD considered NORMAL in society (developed country approach; e.g., 60% of median income). DIMENSIONS: (1) INCOME poverty — Insufficient money; (2) MULTI-DIMENSIONAL — Inadequate health, education, living standards (NITI Aayog MPI 2021/2023); (3) CAPABILITY poverty (Amartya Sen) — Lack of freedoms and abilities to live a valued life. INDIA uses ABSOLUTE poverty as primary measure. Multi-dimensional MPI also adopted. Causes — low income, poor health, inadequate education, asset-lessness, discrimination, shocks. Solutions — economic growth + targeted welfare + structural empowerment.

Q2. How is poverty line estimated in India?

India's POVERTY LINE has evolved through committees: (1) WORKING GROUP 1962 — first attempt at minimum subsistence definition; (2) Y.K. ALAGH 1979 — calorie-based: 2,400 kcal rural + 2,100 kcal urban per capita per day; (3) LAKDAWALA 1993 — calorie + STATE-SPECIFIC price indices (CPI-AL for rural, CPI-IW for urban); (4) TENDULKAR 2009 — Mixed Reference Period; per capita consumption-based; ₹27/day RURAL and ₹33/day URBAN (2011-12 prices); poverty ~22% in 2011-12; (5) RANGARAJAN 2014 — Higher line: ₹32/day rural and ₹47/day urban; poverty ~30%; not officially adopted; (6) NITI AAYOG MPI 2021/2023 — Multi-dimensional approach combining health, education, living standards. The poverty line is the minimum consumption expenditure (per capita per day) below which a person is considered poor. National Statistical Office (NSO) conducts Consumer Expenditure Surveys. World Bank uses $2.15/day (PPP 2017) as extreme poverty line. RECENT — Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 (released 2024) shows continued consumption growth and declining inequality at extreme bottom.

Q3. Discuss the major reasons for poverty in India.

Major reasons: (1) COLONIAL LEGACY — Drain of wealth and deindustrialisation left India underdeveloped at independence; (2) LOW ECONOMIC GROWTH — Hindu rate (3.5%) 1950-90; per capita growth ~1.5%; (3) AGRICULTURAL STAGNATION — Green Revolution skipped many regions; small/marginal farmers exploited; (4) RAPID POPULATION GROWTH — In post-independence decades; reducing per capita gains; (5) INADEQUATE HUMAN CAPITAL — Education and health systems weak; (6) UNEQUAL ASSET DISTRIBUTION — Land reforms partial; concentration of wealth; (7) UNEMPLOYMENT and UNDEREMPLOYMENT — Especially in rural areas; (8) LACK of CREDIT ACCESS — Pushed to moneylenders; debt trap; (9) CASTE AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION — Historical discrimination against SC, ST, OBC, women; (10) ECONOMIC SHOCKS — droughts, floods, illness, recessions, COVID-19; (11) REGIONAL DISPARITIES — BIMARU states (Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, UP) lagged; (12) CLIMATE CHANGE — Increasingly severe in agriculture and coastal areas. POLICY RESPONSES have addressed many of these but unevenly. The decline in poverty (~50% in 1973-74 to ~10% Tendulkar in 2011-12, to ~15% MPI in 2022-23) shows that targeted interventions WORK when sustained.

Q4. Identify the social and economic groups which are most vulnerable to poverty.

SOCIAL groups vulnerable to poverty: (1) SCHEDULED CASTES — historical discrimination; landless labourers; (2) SCHEDULED TRIBES — forest-dependent, often displaced; (3) OBC — partly addressed by reservation but rural OBCs vulnerable; (4) MUSLIMS — overall higher poverty than national average (Sachar Report 2006); (5) WOMEN — especially female-headed households; widows; abandoned women; (6) DIFFERENTLY ABLED — limited employment access; (7) OLD PEOPLE — without pension or family support; (8) CHILDREN — child labourers, orphans, street children. ECONOMIC groups vulnerable: (1) LANDLESS AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS — depend on daily wages; no security; (2) SMALL and MARGINAL FARMERS (under 2 hectares) — low productivity, indebtedness; (3) URBAN CASUAL LABOURERS — construction, head-loaders, rickshaw pullers; (4) STREET VENDORS — informal, unorganised; (5) DOMESTIC WORKERS — mostly women, no benefits; (6) MIGRANT WORKERS — rootless, no social safety net; (7) UNORGANISED SECTOR workers — ~90% of India's workforce; (8) FISHERMEN, ARTISANS, HANDICRAFT workers — facing globalisation challenge. POLICY targeting these groups: SC/ST/OBC reservations, women's schemes (Jan Dhan, Beti Bachao, PM Matru Vandana), PMAY-G housing, Eklavya schools (tribal), Skill India Mission, MUDRA loans, NRLM SHGs (women).

Q5. Outline the policy measures undertaken by the government for poverty alleviation.

Government's poverty alleviation policies fall into FOUR BROAD CATEGORIES: (1) GROWTH-PROMOTING — Five Year Plans, industrial expansion, agricultural Green Revolution, 1991 LPG reforms; (2) SELF-EMPLOYMENT & WAGE EMPLOYMENT — IRDP (1980), SGSY (1999), NRLM/DAY-NRLM (2011/14), Mudra Yojana (2015), Start-up India (2016), MGNREGA (2005); (3) FOOD SECURITY & NUTRITION — PDS (1965), TPDS (1997), NFSA (2013), PMGKAY (2020, permanent 2024), ICDS (1975), POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018), PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal, renamed 2021); (4) BASIC AMENITIES & HUMAN CAPITAL — PMAY (2015) housing, Swachh Bharat (2014) sanitation, Jal Jeevan Mission (2019) water, Ayushman Bharat PMJAY (2018) health, Skill India (2015), Right to Education (2009). KEY SCHEMES BY OUTREACH: (1) PMJDY — 51+ crore bank accounts; (2) PMAY — 4+ crore houses constructed; (3) MGNREGA — 14 crore active workers; (4) PMJAY — 36 crore Ayushman cards; (5) Jal Jeevan — 70%+ rural household tap connections; (6) PM-KISAN — 11 crore farmers. RECENT (2024) — PMGKAY made PERMANENT free 5 kg/month; PMJAY extended to all 70+ regardless of income (Vay Vandana). NITI AAYOG measures multidimensional poverty fall: ~25 crore people moved out of MPI poverty 2013-14 to 2022-23. The arc shows POLICY effectiveness when SUSTAINED.

Q6. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) What do you understand by 'relative poverty'? Relative poverty means inability to maintain the standard of living considered NORMAL in society. It is RELATIVE to other people in the same society, often defined as 60% of median income. Used in developed countries.

(ii) Discuss the case for and against using the 'poverty line' as the measure of poverty. FOR: (1) Provides a clear quantitative measure; (2) Allows comparison across time and regions; (3) Targets welfare schemes; (4) Tracks policy effectiveness. AGAINST: (1) Income/consumption is only one dimension; (2) Fixed line may not capture qualitative changes; (3) Cut-off treats people just above as not poor; (4) Doesn't capture inequality, exclusion, capabilities. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MPI addresses many of these.

(iii) What programmes has the government adopted to help the elderly people and poor and destitute women? ELDERLY: National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP, 1995) — Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme; Atal Pension Yojana 2015; Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana 2017. WOMEN: PM Matru Vandana Yojana ₹5,000+ for first child; Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015); Jan Dhan (women 30+ crore); Ujjwala Yojana (free LPG to ~10 crore); One Stop Centres for distressed women; Janani Suraksha Yojana for institutional delivery.

(iv) Mention urban poverty alleviation programmes. Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY 1997) → National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM 2013) → DAY-NULM (2014); PMAY-Urban (2015) for affordable housing; Smart Cities Mission (2015); PM-SVANidhi for street vendors (2020); ESI (Employees' State Insurance) and EPF (Employees' Provident Fund).