Indian Economic Development

Chapter 4 Poverty
1. Why is calorie-based norm not adequate to identify the poor?
Answer
The calorie-based norm is not adequate to identify the poor because:

→ This mechanism groups all people together and does not differentiate between a very poor from other
poor making it difficult to identify who are the neediest.

→ The norm only uses expenditure on food and some selected few items as basis of estimating poor.

→ This norm does not consider various important factors that are associated with poverty. These
factors are health care, clean drinking water, proper sanitation and basic education.

→ It also fails to account for social factors that exaggerate and worsen poverty like ill health, lack of
access to resources, lack of civil and political freedom, etc.

2. What is meant by 'Food for Work' programme?

Answer
'Food for Work' programme was started in 1970s to raise the standard of living of poor’s.

This programme aims at boosting food security through wage employment in the drought affected rural
areas in eight States, i.e., Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa,
Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.

The center makes available appropriate quantity of food grains free of cost to each of the drought affected
States as an additionally under the programme.

Wages by the State government can be paid partly in kind and partly in cash.

3. Why are employment generation programmes important in poverty alleviation in India?

Answer
The employment generation programme are important in poverty alleviation in India because:

→ It gives an opportunity to the poor to raise their income through government supported schemes.

→ Increase in income give access to higher standard of living and greater accessibility to education, better
health facilities, proper sanitation, etc. to the poor.

→ These programmes also create additional assets by means of work generation.

4. How can creation of income earning assets address the problem of poverty?
Answer
Income-earning assets are resources which serve as a base for earning a livelihood.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 1
 If people have access to land, social network and fixed public assets such as wells, clinics, schools,
education, dams and bridges, then it will generate more employment opportunities.

For example, providing land to landless rural workers will encourage self-employment through agriculture
and animal husbandry.

This will increase the earning capacity of workers and help them in overcoming the problem of poverty.
Thus, it can be concluded that the problem of poverty can be solved by generating income-earning assets

5. The three dimensional attack on poverty adopted by the government has not succeeded in
poverty alleviation in India. Comment.
Answer
The three dimensional approach of economic growth, employment generation and alleviating poverty
could not achieve the desired result.

Although there has been a reduction in the percentage of absolute poor in some of the states but still the
poor people lack basic amenities, literacy, and nourishment.

This is because of

 Though there has been a reduction in the percentage of absolute poor in some of the states of India but still
we cannot see that the basic amenities could reach every poor people.

 The income earning assets and productive resources are not owned by the poor.

 There was inequality of income from land due to land reforms.

 The improper implementation of poverty alleviation programmes lead to increased corruption and
improper and inefficient allocation of scarce resources.

6. What programmes has the government adopted to help the elderly people and poor and destitute
women?
Answer
National Social Assistance programme is one of the programme started by government to help the elderly
people and poor and destitute women

This programme targets elderly people, widows and the poor and needy women who are alone and have
no one to take care of them.

Under this programme, these targeted people are given pension to sustain their livelihood.

7.Is there any relationship between unemployment and poverty? Explain

Answer There is direct relationship between unemployment and poverty.
Unemployment leads to poverty and poverty in turn leads to unemployment.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 2
Unemployment is sign of poverty It leads to hunger, gloom, indebtedness etc. An unemployed person has
no means to earn money and cannot fulfill his own and his family's basic needs. He and his family cannot
avail quality education, medical facilities and has no means to create income-earning assets.

8.Suppose you are from a poor family and you wish to get help from the government to set up a
petty shop. Under which scheme will you apply for assistance and why?
Answer
For setting up a petty shop, I would apply for financial assistance under the programme of Prime
Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY).

Under this programme, an unemployed educated person from low-income family in rural and urban areas
can set up any kind of enterprise that can generate employment.

9. Illustrate the difference between rural and urban poverty. Is it correct to say that poverty has
shifted from rural to urban areas? Use the trends in poverty ratio to support your answer.
Answer
The difference between rural and urban poverty is the nature of poverty.

In rural areas, poor people are those who are landless agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers.

While in urban areas, poor people are those who are unemployed, underemployed or employed in low
productivity occupation with low wages.

Yes, it is correct to say that poverty has shifted from rural to urban areas.

Above data show that rural poverty has declined significantly from 56.4% in 1973-74 to 28.3% in 2004-
05 whereas decline in urban poverty (from 49% to 25.7%) is not that significant. Further, the

Year Poverty Ratio

Rural (%) Urban (%) Total (%)
1973-74 56.4 49.0 54.9
1977-78 53.1 45.2 51.3
1983 45.6 40.8 44.5
1987-88 39.1 38.2 38.9
1993-94 37.3 32.4 36.0
1999-2000 27.1 23.6 26.1
2004-05 comparable with 1993-94 28.3 25.7 27.5

gap between the rural and urban poverty ratios which was around 7% in 1973-74 fell to just around
2% in 2004-05 again signifying the shift in poverty from rural to urban areas.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 3
10. Suppose you are a resident of a village, suggest a few measures to tackle the problem of poverty.
Answer
Being a resident of a village, I would suggest the following measures to tackle the problem of poverty:

→ Identification of poor.
→ Generating employment opportunities for the identified poor.
→ Free access to education and health care facilities.
→ Establishment of small scale industries.
→ Redistribution of income-earning assets.
→ Encouraging poor for their active participation
→ Organising Training Camps and Night Classes for imparting vocational training to unskilled labourers.
→ Advancing financial and technical assistance to establish small enterprises.
→ Upgradation of agricultural practices to raise productivity → Enforcement of measures to check
population growth.
→ Development of infrastructure.

→ Motivating the poor to acquire skills, information and knowledge.

Question11.Define poverty.
Answer. Poverty in India has been defined as that situation in which an individual fail to earn income
sufficient to buy him minimum means of subsistence.

Question12. What programmes has the government adopted to help the elderly people and poor and
destitute women?
Answer.
1. National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)-NSAP was introduced on 15 August, 1995 as a 100 per
cent Centrally Sponsored Scheme for social assistance to poor households affected by old age, death of
primary bread earner and maternity care.

The programme has three components, i.e., national Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family
Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).

2. Annapurna- It aims at providing food security to meet the requirement of those senior citizens who still
eligible for pensions under the National Old Age Pension Scheme, are not getting the same.

Food grains are provided to the beneficiaries at subsidized rates of Rs. 2 per kg of wheat and Rs. 3 per kg
of rice. The scheme is operational in states and 5 union territories. More than 6.08 lakh families have been
identified and the benefits of the scheme are passing on to them.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 4
Question12. What is the difference between relative and absolute poverty?
answer

Question 13. Suppose you are from a poor family and you wish to get help from the government to
set up a petty shop. Under which scheme will you apply for assistance and why?
Answer.
The assistance can be given by Aajeevika. In this scheme one can get financial help in the form of bank
loans.
Other Programmes which can provide help are:
1.  REGP (Rural Employment Generation Programme)
2.  PMRY (Pradhan Mantri rojgar Yojana).

Question14. Illustrate the difference between rural and urban poverty. Is it correct to say that
poverty has shifted from rural to urban areas? Use the trends in poverty ratio to support your
answer?
Answer.
In the rural areas, poor people are those who are landless agricultural labourers, small and marginal
farmers. In the urban areas, poor people are those who are unemployed, underemployed or employed in
low productivity occupations with very low wages.

Rural-Urban Break-up of Poverty Following pattern emerges:

1.  The decline in poverty was comparatively much steep in rural areas where the percentage
2. of people living below poverty line fell to 33.8 per cent (2009-10) from 41.8 per cent (2004-05).
3. In urban areas, percentage of people living below poverty line fell to 20.9 per cent (2009-10) from 25.7
per cent (2004-05).
4.  The number of people living below poverty line was estimated at 354.7 million in 2009-10.

Question 15.Explain the concept of relative poverty with the help of the population below poverty
line in some states of India.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 5
 Answer.
Relative Poverty refers to poverty in relative terms. It refers to poverty of people in comparison to other
people, regions or nations. It indicates that a group or belonging to higher income groups. Among the
major states, percentage of people living below poverty line was 37.9 per cent in Assam, 23.0 per cent in
Gujarat, 20.1 per cent in Haryana, 23.6 per cent in Karnataka, 36.7 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 24.8 per
cent in Rajasthan and 26.7 per cent in West Bengal in 2009-10.

Question 16. Suppose you are a resident of a village, suggest a few measures to tackle the problem of
poverty.
Answer. Some measures that can be taken are:
1.  Making people aware about benefits of sanitation.
2.  Telling people about various programmes of the government.
3. Helping people to take loan and get self-employed.
4.  Keeping a control on growth rate of population.
5.  Helping people to start small scale and cottage industries which would generate employment.

Question 17. Explain the concept of poverty line?

Answer.
• Poverty line is a cutoff point on the line of distribution, which usually divides the population of the
country as poor & non poor.
• People having income below the poverty line are called poor & people with income above poverty line
are called non poor.
• The planning commission has defined poverty line on the basis of recommended nutritional requirement
of 2400 calories per person in rural areas and 2100 for a person in urban areas.
• While fixing the poverty line, consumption of food is considered as the most important criteria.
• The consumption worth of Rs. 328 per person a month in rural area and for urban area it was Rs. 454
also considered for poverty line.

1 Mark questions
1. Define poverty?
Ans.. poverty refers to a state in which an individual is unable to fulfill even the basic necessities
of life.

2. Name two measures to determine the extent of poverty?

Ans. .The two measures to determine the extent of poverty are:
I. Relative poverty
II. Absolute poverty

3. What is the minimum calorie intake estimated for rural & urban areas?
Ans.. The minimum calorie intake estimated in rural areas is 2400 & in urban areas 2100 calorie.

4. Why has higher calorie intake fixed for rural areas?

Ans.. Higher calorie intake has been fixed for rural areas because the rural worker has to do greater
physical work as compared to urban worker

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 6
5. How can creation of income earning assets address the problem of poverty?
Ans.. If poor people are provided with high income earning assets, then they will be assured of minimum
income. It would help them in coming above the poverty line.

6. What is meant by absolute poverty?

Ans.. Absolute poverty refers to the total number of people living below poverty line.

7. The poverty has shifted from overall to urban areas. Why?

Ans. The poverty has shifted from overall to urban areas because of the migration of the rural people to
urban areas in search of alternative employment & livelihood.

8. Name the program initiated by government to help the elderly people & poor & destitute women?
Ans.. National social assistance program (NSAP)

9. What is meant by head count ratio?

Ans.. When the number of poor is estimated as the proportion of people below the poverty line, it is
known as “Head Count Ratio

10. What is the amount of consumption expenditure to determine poverty line in India?
Ans.. Rs. 328 per month in rural areas & Rs. 454 per month in urban areas at 1990-00 prices.

11. Which Organization collects data on poverty in India?

Ans.. National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO)

12. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty.

Ans.. Absolute poverty refers to the total number of people living below poverty line, whereas relative
poverty refers to poverty of people in comparison to other people, regions or nations.

13. Where do you think the incidence of poverty is greater? Rural areas or urban areas?
Ans.. Rural areas.

14. What percentage of population was below the poverty line in the year 2004-05?
Ans.. 21.8 per cent.

Expert Shiksha Shobhit Mishra

8130071900
pg. 7