Poverty Eradication

- By Kanchan

‘Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is

manmade and it can be overcome and eradicated by the
actions of human beings’ – Nelson Mandela
Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the
financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty
means that the income level from employment is so low that basic human
needs can't be met. Poverty-stricken people and families might go without
proper housing, clean water, healthy food, and medical attention. Each nation
may have its own threshold that determines how many of its people are living
in poverty.

The 2030 Agenda acknowledges that eradicating poverty in all its forms and
dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development. The first Sustainable
Development Goal aims to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”. Its seven
associated targets aims, among others, to eradicate extreme poverty for all
people everywhere, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and
children of all ages living in poverty, and implement nationally appropriate
social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030
achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.

Why focus on social sector

 No country has progressed without investing in the social sector.

 India is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) by 2030, and social sector development is important in reaching
them.
 Progress in this sector has intrinsic (for its own sake) and instrumental
(for higher growth) value.
 It is needed even to build a $5 trillion economy faster.

Following are some key issues in the social sector India needs to focus on.

1) The problem of undernutrition

  The NFHS-5 report shows that malnutrition level has reduced marginally
in a few states and has worsened in some other states between 2015-16
and 2019-20.
 We can’t have a society with 35 per cent of our children suffering from
malnutrition.
 Apart from undernutrition, obesity seems to be increasing in both rural
and urban areas.

2) Quality education

 Quality education is key for raising human development.

 The pandemic has enhanced inequalities in education and has revealed
the widening digital gap.

3) Social safety nets

 It is known that migrant workers were the most affected during the
pandemic and that they do not have any safety nets.
 There is a need to have safety nets like an employment guarantee
scheme for the urban poor and facilities for migrants.
 Similarly in rural areas, allocations to MGNREGA have to be increased
because of the reverse migration.

4) Programs for vulnerable section need to be continued

 The government has done well in providing cooking gas through Ujjwala
Yojana and electricity through Saubhagya Yojana, introducing
programmes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and initiatives for housing,
financial inclusion and providing loans to the self-employed.
 These programmes have helped the vulnerable sections, particularly
women.