Poverty refers to the condition of not having the means to afford basic human needs such as clean water,

nutrition, health care, clothing and shelter. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution. Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages.

Poverty is the worst form of violence. Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand

Capitalism has improved the lives of billions of people something that's easy to forget at a time of great economic uncertainty. But it has left out billions more. They have great needs, but they can't express those needs in ways that matter to markets. So they are stuck in poverty, suffer from preventable diseases and never have a chance to make the most of their lives. Bill Gates

Poverty in India:
Poverty in India is widespread with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. Millions of people in India are unable to meet the basic standard of living: Food, Clothing, and Shelter. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 42% of India's 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 60% in 1980. Since the 1950 s, the Indian government has implemented a number of programs designed to eradicate poverty, and has had some success with these programs. 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.

Causes of Poverty in India:

1. Population explosion:
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth. India's population of approximately 1.17 billion people (estimate for July, 2009) consists of more than one-sixth of the world's population. This has lead to extreme poverty in India due to the scarce resources at disposal.

2. High Standards of Living and High Cost of Living. 3. Inadequate Education and Employment. 4. Environmental Degradation. 5. Economic and Demographic Trends. 6. Individual Responsibility and Welfare Dependency. 7. Red Tapism and Corruption. 8. Absence of Communism. 9. Global distribution of resources. 10. High level of dependence on primitive methods of agriculture 11. Regional inequalities 12. No Globalisation before the 1991 Economic Reforms 13. Lack of proper implementation of policies 14. Drain of Wealth by the British from India 15.Wars & natural calamities.

Effects of Poverty:
1.Health Problems 2.Population/ 3.Unemployment 4.Lack of Education 5.Problems of Housing 6.Increase in Crime Rate

7. Drug Abuse