Poverty

Poverty in India is widespread with the nation estimated to have a third

of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 42% of
India falls below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day (PPP, in
nominal terms Rs. 21.6 a day in urban areas and Rs 14.3 in rural areas);
having reduced from 90% in 1980. According to the criterion used by
the Planning Commission of India 27.5% of the population was living
below the poverty line in 2004–2005, down from 51.3% in 1977–1978,
and 36% in 1993-1994.

The Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its
growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups,
economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas.
Between 1999 and 2008, the annualized growth rates for

Gujarat (8.8%),

Haryana (8.7%),

Delhi (7.4%) were much higher than for

Bihar (5.1%),

Uttar Pradesh (4.4%), or

Madhya Pradesh (3.5%).

Poverty rates in rural Orissa (43%) and rural Bihar (41%) are among the
world's most extrememillion poor living Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkand,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
This number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest
African nations.

Causes of poverty in India

The Mughal era ended at about 1760. Jawaharlal Nehru claimed "A
significant fact which stands out is that those parts of India which have
been longest under British rule are the poorest today.“ The Indian
economy was purposely and severely deindustrialized (especially in the
areas of textiles and metal-working) through colonial privatizations,
regulations, tariffs on manufactured or refined Indian goods, taxes, and
direct seizures, as noted by linguist and commentator Noam Chomsky.

Quoting Shashi Tharoor, former UN Undersecretary-General and

author, in his book The Great Indian Novel, "...the British killed the
Indian artisan, they created the Indian landless laborer, they exported
our full employment and they invented our poverty."