Chapter – 3 Poverty As A Challenge

Q-1) Describe how the poverty line is estimated in India?

Ans – There are two methods of estimating poverty in India –
(a) Expenditure Method –
(i) According to this method, the minimum nutritional food requirement for survival
is estimated and is converted into calories.
(ii) These calories are then converted into money value, i.e., in rupees.
(iii) The minimum amount required for clothes and shelter is added to the money value
of food. This total amount is considered as the amount required to be spent in
order to remain above the poverty line.
(iv) All those families who spend less than the poverty line fixed by the government
are termed as living below the poverty line.
(v) The minimum daily nutritional requirement required for a person has been fixed at
2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas.

(b) Income method –

(i) According to this method, a minimum per capita income is fixed which is
required to buy the basic necessities.
(ii) According to 2011 – 12 prices, the minimum income was fixed at Rs. 816 per
person, per month in rural areas and Rs. 1000 per person, per month in urban
areas.
(iii) If any family has income less than the fixed income, he is considered to be living
below the poverty line.
(iv) This method is used to distribute food at subsidised prices through the public
distributor system.

Q-2) Do you think that present methodology of poverty estimation is appropriate?

Ans – No, the present methodology of poverty estimation is not appropriate as it is only a
quantitative concept. It
is about the minimum subsistence level of living rather than a reasonable level of living.
Other aspects of
human life like education, health, etc., should also be included while calculating poverty.
______________________________________________________________________________
Q-3)Describe poverty trends since 1993.

Ans. – (i) There has been a substantial decline in poverty ratios in India from about 45% in
1993 to 21.9% in 2011 - 12
(ii) Around 50% of rural population was living below poverty line in 1993 which has come
down to 26%.in 2011-12

1
 (iii) About 32% of urban population was living below poverty in 1993 which has come down
to 14% in 2011-12
(iv)Although the % of people living under poverty declined by 2004- 05, the number of poor
remained stable around 407 million due to increase in population.

Q-4) What is poverty?

Ans – Poverty is a situation in which a person is unable to get the minimum basic necessities of
life i.e. food,
clothing and shelter for his/her sustenance.

Q-5)Mention any two indicators of poverty.

Ans- (1) Level of income
(2) Level of consumption

Q-6) How is poverty line estimated periodically? Name an organisation which is

responsible for estimating poverty.

Ans –The poverty line is estimated by conducting sample surveys.

These surveys are carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation.

Q-7)Define poverty with context to World Bank.

Ans – For making comparisons between developing countries in regard to poverty ,the World
bank uses a uniform standard for the poverty line. According to the World Bank, all those
persons who live on less than
$1.90 a day are considered to be living below poverty line.

Q8) Discuss the major dimensions of poverty.

Ans – (i) Poverty means hunger and lack of shelter.

(ii)It is a situation in which parents are not able to send their children to school or a situation
where sick
people cannot afford treatment.
(iii) Poverty also means lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.
(iv) Poverty means lack of regular job at a minimum decent level.

Q-9) Who are the poorest of the poor?

Ans – There are inequalities of income within a family also. In poor families, all suffer but some
suffer more than others. Women, Elderly people and female infants are denied equal access to

2
the resources available to family. Therefore, women, old people and children are called poorest
of poor.

Q-10) Identify the various groups vulnerable to poverty.

Ans –
(i) Social Groups –
The Social Groups which are most vulnerable to poverty are scheduled cast and
scheduled tribe households. Although the average for people below poverty line for
all groups in India is 30. 48 out of 100 people belonging to scheduled tribes and rural
areas are not able to meet their basic needs.

(ii) Economic Groups –

Similarly among the economic groups, the most vulnerable groups are the rural
agricultural labour households and the urban casual labour households.

(iii) Inequality within family –

Apart from these social groups, there is also inequality of incomes within a family. In
poor families, all suffer but some suffer more than others. Women, elderly people and
female infants are systematically denied equal access to resources available to the
family. Therefore women children (especially the girl child) and old people are the
poorest of the poor.

Q-11) Discuss the current Government strategy of poverty alleviation.

Ans – The current anti – poverty strategy of the government is based broadly on 2 planks:-
(i) Promotion of economic growth- Economic growth gives opportunity of job creation
within the country which provides stable livelihood to people and thereby reducing
the number of people under poverty. Investments made for human development
such as in education, medical facilities etc. further allows growth and creation of
jobs.
(ii) Targeted anti – poverty programmes--.The government launches programmes for
certain groups to help them come out of poverty. Some programmes are—Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act ,2005. Prime Minister RozgarYojana( PMRY), Swarnajayanti
Gram SwarozgarYojana.etc.

Q-12) What do you understand by human poverty?

Ans –Human poverty is a broader concept of poverty. Along with food, it also includes other
necessities of life like education, health care, job security, etc.

3
Q-13)“The result of poverty alleviation programme has been mixed.” Give reasons.

Ans – (i) The major reason for ineffectiveness of poverty alleviation programmes is the lack of
proper implementation and right targeting.
(ii) There has been a lot of over – lapping of schemes.
(iii) Despite good intentions, the benefits of these schemes do not reach the deserving people.

Q-14)Discuss the major reasons for poverty.

Ans.The major reason for poverty in India are:-

(a) Lack of industrialisation-

Due to lack of industrialisation during the British rule, India remained backward and as
a result there was not much increase in job opportunities. The Britishers discouraged
handicrafts and were interested in selling machine made goods produced by them.
(b)Over Dependence On Agriculture -
About 60% of our total population still depends on agriculture for their livelihood. But
due to the old methods of production in agriculture, the income of the people remains
low which keeps them in continuous poverty.

(c) Huge Income Inequalities –

There is unequal distribution of land and other resources in the rural areas which has
resulted in inequalities of income. The land reforms suggested in the rural areas could
not solve this problem due to their inefficient implementation.

(d) Socio-Cultural and Economic Factors –

Social obligations and religious ceremonies require a lot of money to be spent which
the poor people cannot afford and therefore have to take loans from the money lenders
which lead to their indebtedness.

(e) High Rate of Growth Of Population –

High growth rate of population is another major factor responsible for poverty in India
because whatever growth takes place in a country is being nullified by the increase in
population. Therefore the condition of the poor remains the same

Q-14) To learn Poverty Alleviation Programmes from the text book of Economics.